Doomed
by Megan Mismatch
Summary: There was a new world order, living in a time such as this was turning out to be more complicated than we had ever thought. With walkers around every turn and a dictator trying to enslave the living, who can manage to keep going without something to hold onto? I always believed my brother would be all I had left to live for, until the burned forest. Until I met the saviour...Dwight
1. Prologue

Prologue

It felt like the end of the world had come around a second time, first the walkers and now...this. How could things get any worse, right? Oh, but they could. I was slowly beginning to realize that with every breath I took. This was the end, the end of everything my group had been fighting for since the beginning of all this. I just wanted it all to stop, for time to stand still.

For the first time in my life I was actually scared. Scared for all the people that I cared for, scared for the home we had built together, and scared for myself. We were going to lose everything and it was all because of... I couldn't pretend to be strong anymore, I felt completely broken. I knew what I had to do, that I had to survive.

That's what it'd been about since the outbreak after all, survival. Whether it be surviving the living or surviving the dead. At first it was the dead we were all worried about, we assumed that all the living would be rallying together like some band of heroes to fight the dead. In the end the living didn't change the way we'd hoped, there were still bad people left in the world. People that stole, people that killed, and that was just the start of the list.

Since the end of the world had come, people had gotten worse than they ever were. Or maybe that was just me trying to pretend the world had once been a great place. I wasn't ignorant, I knew how the world worked back before the shit hit the fan and it was just the same as ever. Except for the fact that there were walkers at our heels, trying to devour any living thing left. Now that was something I'd never expected but here we were, living in a world with dead things walking around.

I had tried to blind myself to these things, I had tried to pretend that in the end everything would be okay and we'd all survive. Sure, the dead may have wound up sticking around for 10, maybe 20, maybe 50 years but we'd make it. And we'd all be together, we wouldn't lose anyone else. We were a family and nothing would threaten the bond we had.

But...I was wrong.

I was dead wrong.


	2. Chapter One: To Prove My Worth

Chapter One: To Prove My Worth

It had been a few weeks since the herd had gotten through the walls of Alexandria, a few weeks since our group had once again, defeated a countless number of walkers. I guessed we were lucky that way, after everything we'd been through the universe had blessed us. It wasn't just luck though, with Rick leading our group we always managed to prevail. We always managed to pull through, even in the toughest situations. We were lucky to have Rick as our leader.

I sighed softly and rolled over in bed, staring up at the ceiling as I contemplated getting out of bed. I didn't know what I could do if I even did get out of bed, Rick didn't seem to need my help with anything. I never really was assigned important tasks other than making runs and that even didn't happen anymore too much. Not the runs, those were almost a daily thing. The me factor of it wasn't.

My brother wasn't too happy about how the last mission went, between the herd of walkers we were leading away and the people we ran into, he was less than okay with me leaving Alexandria. He was protective to say the least and I was thankful to have a brother that cared so much about my wellbeing. However, I wasn't some little girl anymore. I was a grown woman and I wanted to prove that to the others. I was treated like I child nowadays because of my age, I was one of the youngest in the group other than Judith and Carl. Hell, I could be their big sister since I was only 20. It just bugged me because it used to be different, I used to be valued.

I groaned in anger, shoving the sheets off and moved out of bed. I'd show them I could take care of myself, that I could help provide, that I could help keep this place safe. And that's exactly what I would do. I went through my dresser quickly, grabbing some clothes. I quickly dressed in a pair of worn jeans, a black tank-top, tied a button-up around my waist, and slid my angel wing vest on. It was a Dixon thing, at least it was my and Daryl's thing.

Even though we were over a decade apart in age and had different mothers, Daryl had never treated me like the family black sheep. I was always his Angel, from the day I was born. I was a miracle baby from the beginning, my mother wasn't supposed to be able to have children but there I was; alive and healthy even though it'd cost her life. My mother had whispered my name before she died from complications but no one had heard what she said. So, Daryl started calling me Angel, until our father could come up with something. However, that never happened so Angel it was.

I sighed, trying to push the old world from my thoughts and slid on my black combat boots. I grabbed my comb and tugged it through the rat nest my hair was. After several minutes worth of combing, I pulled my hair up into a high bun, it was already falling apart. My hair was too long, it fell down to my hips when I didn't pull it up; it was very Alice in Wonderland looking to put it simply. I groaned and stomped my foot angrily, looking up into the eyes of my reflection. I didn't look much like a Dixon, I took after my mother. My hair was sunshine blonde, and again it fell just like Alice in Wonderland. I had dark blue eyes and ivory skin, my face was heart-shaped and I stood at an enormous height of 5 feet 4 inches, weighing in at possibly 90 pounds. I was a tiny girl but that came with living during the apocalypse, food was a luxury nowadays.

I grabbed my belt, my *gun* belt, and slid it on under my flannel. I holstered my 2 handguns, grabbed my backpack with my hunting knife and a few supplies hidden inside and headed out of my room. I knew that Daryl would already be gone, he was the early bird while I was not. This was the perfect time for me to get out of the town for a bit, prove that I could do something other than laundry and cleaning. I grabbed an apple and headed out of the house, eating it as I walked. If I could just avoid everyone long enough to get to my bike, then I'd be golden. I walked down the street, finishing off my breakfast and made it to my bike without incident. Now I just needed the gate open.

"Hey!" I hollered. "Can you open the gate Abraham?"

Abraham approached me curiously, more than likely wondering why Daryl wasn't with me.

"Where's big brother?" He questioned, I pointed to the sky.

"Big brother is always watching." I joked, he rolled his eyes and tried to supress a chuckle.

"Don't play that shit kid. Where's your bro?" he pressed, I groaned.

"Fuck if I know." I grumbled. "I just need to go on a run, help me out and open the gate."

He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, I rolled my eyes and tried to stand my ground. I needed to do this, I really needed this for myself, to prove I could be useful to the town and our group.

"You good?" He asked, I nodded.

"Got all my gear." I replied with a smile.

He sighed and nodded, heading back over to the gate. I straddled my bike and started it up, revving the engine as he pulled open the gate. I moved my bike forward, slowly at first before giving it more gas.

"You sure you can do this shit solo kid?" Abraham asked, I nodded.

"I got this." I told him.

I gave my bike another round of gas and sped through the gate before he could say another word. I knew his game, he'd wind up insisting he couldn't let a kid like me go out on my own and I'd be stuck with a babysitter. It wasn't happening this time, I was going to prove I could be valuable to the group.

I sped down the road, trying to find a good place to scavenge supplies. Somewhere our group hadn't been yet ideally, that'd be the place where I could scavenge untouched supplies and get a little bang for my buck so to speak. If I wow'd them enough, I was sure I'd be granted more responsibilities and roles in the community. I understood why Rick didn't want to let Carl go out like the rest of the group, he was a kid even though he'd grown up a shit ton since this all started. I was an adult though, I should be on the same page as the rest of the group. I had a feeling Daryl was behind it, trying to watch over me and keep me safe. Since Merle had passed, he'd gotten a little uptight about me taking on adult roles. I understood why but we needed everyone helping out, including me.

About forty five minutes into my trip, I took a random left turn down a road I hadn't been down before. I was sure that it hadn't been explored thoroughly by our group, if I pressed a little further I could possibly find some virgin stores or shops. I took a right turn at the next road, hoping to find something. Hell, at least a run down gas station would satisfy me at this point. I felt a small smile come to my face when I came across an abandoned town.

'Jackpot.'

I parked my bike on the side of the ride behind a large Toyota truck, I kicked out the stand as I shut off the engine. I hopped off my bike, shaking my hair out of my face. Looks as though my hairband had broke at some point, something like that is hard to notice when you're on a bike anyway. I made my way down the street, looking for something worth while. One of these shops had to have something I could use...a pharmacy.

I made my way to the door, pulling out my hunting knife. I banged on the door, trying to lure out any walkers that may be around. After waiting a few minutes I entered the pharmacy, surprised at how untouched it was. Everything of value was still here, the shelves were fully stocked with all sorts of vital things; I needed a bigger bag. I made my way to the back of the pharmacy, managing to find a couple of big black trash bags and started with the stuff behind the counter. I began shoving every bottle of pills into the first bag, not knowing nor caring what kind of medicine it was.

After maybe 20 minutes of clearing the back shelves, my bag was pretty full and I needed the other for everything else in this place. I grabbed the other trash bag and began looking through the shelves, grabbing what seemed would be valuable to the community. I went down every aisle, grabbing everything from asprin to tampons. It wasn't like periods just stopped because the end of the world happened after all. I moved to the last section of the pharmacy, grinning when I saw the baby stuff.

Judith could use more back at home and there was so much in here that she needed. I began with the baby food, shoving the jars in my backpack since they were probably the most valuable thing for her. I moved back to the front to find another trash bag, this last one wasn't as big as the other two but it'd have to do. I went back to the baby aisle, grabbing every food and drink item I could and even went as far to shoving some toddler toys into the bag. Now, I just needed to figure out how to haul these diapers.

'Wait. That truck would be perfect.'

I began working on gathering my findings close to the door, moving the diapers first since most of them were in boxes. Once everything was positioned together, I cautiously headed out the door to the truck parked in front of my bike. I opened the drivers side door, not surprised when I walker fell out. Without blinking, I pulled out my hunting knife and stabbed it in the temple. I groaned at it getting blood on my boots and hopped up into the truck, feeling relieved when I saw keys in the ignition.

"Fuck yes, things are so boss today." I cheered, turning the key.

The truck roared to life, showing me there was half a tank left and a reason to celebrate. I moved the truck down the road and parked it in front of the pharmacy. I turned off the engine, putting the key in my pocket; I wasn't going to be dumb enough to get car jacked. Now I just needed to get my bike in the truck bed, I wasn't leaving it behind. I hopped down from the truck, going to the back and opened the tailgate. I just needed something to make a ramp with, maybe I could use the boards from the shelves in that pharmacy.

I headed back inside the pharmacy and got to work taking apart one of the larger shelves and hauling the boards outside to the truck. I propped them up on the tailgate and headed back down the street to my bike. Once my bike was safely in the truck-bed, I kicked the boards to the side and went about loading my other findings. I didn't want to stay out here too long, even though there were plenty more shops to explore, I'd have to come back with a team next time. I shut the tailgate up and headed up to the front of the truck, a small smile on my lips.

'I managed to do all this by myself, now they might see how useful I can be...again'

I opened the door of the truck and tossed my backpack into the passenger seat before I stepped up onto the truck-step, then I heard a small click behind me. The click of a gun.

'Shit.'

I inwardly groaned, couldn't I just have one good day anymore? I'd left Alexandria today with intentions of being a bad ass and getting shit done. But no, this prick behind me was under the impression he could take my shit and kill me. Like hell I was going to let that happen, I had worked too hard for this shit to go downhill. How the fuck did he manage to sneak up on me without making any noise?

'Maybe he's a hunter too, used to not making much noise. Fuck, why is it always me?'

"You gonna shoot me?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

No response, why wasn't I surprised? It was as if men just lost their nerve when it came to having a gun to the back of a woman's head. It wasn't difficult to tell a man's physique from a woman's but for some damn reason, men in this time were just morons. I mean shit, I had long flowy hair for Christ's sake. Any man that couldn't tell that I was a woman, was thick headed as shit.

"Well, if you aren't going to shoot me then I'd like to head out if you don't mind." I said, moving my hand under my flannel to my handgun.

"Step down from the truck."

'Why does that voice sound familiar?'

I inwardly groaned at my bad luck and stepped backwards off the truck-step into the road.

"You don't have to do this." I stated. "You can just walk away."

No response again, I shut the door of the truck and went to turn around to face the prick trying to rob me.

"Don't."

I stopped, that sounded more like a request than an order. Who was this guy and what was his deal? If he was going to rob me and kill me then why the hell would he care if I saw who he was?

"Are you alone?" I asked calmly, fingering my gun under my flannel.

"For now."

"Why?" I pressed; no response.

I was getting really fed up with this not answering my questions thing, it was common courtesy afterall. I was surprised he'd kept me alive this long though, if this asshole was going to kill me, wouldn't he had done it by now?

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked, tapping my foot to cover the click of my gun.

"That's not what I want." He replied, I nodded a little.

"Okay, same here. I'd rather not die today."

I quickly turned, pulling my handgun out as I did so and shoved it in the face of...

"Dwight?"


	3. Chapter Two: The Forest

Chapter Two: The Forest

*Flashback*

"Shit, you okay Angel?"

I groaned softly, grabbing my ribs. That fall had been brutal, it felt like my side was on fire.

"Fuck fuck fuck." I groaned, Daryl came rushing to my side.

"Come on. Get up." He instructed, grabbing my arm. "They're comin back."

I scrambled to my feet with Daryl's help and hopped on the back of his bike. I wrapped my arms around his torso and we took off down the road, trying to avoid the assholes that had just tried to shoot us down. We'd been separated from Sasha and Abraham, we'd have to meet up with them later after we'd managed to ditch these pricks. I looked around Daryl, trying to find somewhere we could hide out for a few hours.

"There!" I yelled, pointing towards some blackened trees.

He sped in that direction, going into the forest a ways before shutting off the engine of his bike. I moved off the bike, holding my ribs as Daryl collapsed on the ground next to his bike. I took a slow breath, wincing at the pain.

"Daryl, are you okay?"

"Yeah Angel, I'll be fine." He said, tossing off his jacket. "I'll hide this for now and we can make a camp, get your side looked at."

"I'm more worried about your arm, it looks bad." I murmured, watching the red roll down it.

"Just a scratch." He said gruffly, covering his bike with some brush. "No need to worry about me kid."

I rolled my eyes, holding my ribs tenderly. I hoped it was just a bruise, a broken rib could easily pucture one of my lungs or vital organs. We walked away from the bike a bit, I stopped when I heard a twig snap. I moved my eyes to Daryl, he nodded and swung his crossbow off his back. I pulled one of my guns out of it's holster, flipping the safety off. I aimed my gun ahead, following behind my brother stealthily. We cautiously moved closer into the trees, finding the source of the sound; two women, a blonde and brunette.

"You found us okay?" The brunette said jumping up, hands in the air. "We earned what we took."

She stood in front of the blonde protectively, I lowered my gun slightly. She talked like she'd been expecting someone to find them, maybe she thought we were looking for them? She had the wrong people obviously, I wasn't interested in taking whatever these people had stolen. I glanced at my brother, he had his crossbow at the ready.

"Daryl." I said softly, he hardened his gaze at the two women. "Daryl."

I turned quickly when I heard a twig snap behind us, a branch swung out of no where, knocking Daryl to the ground. I pulled out my other gun, pointing it back towards the two women and the other in the face of a blonde man. I blinked curiously, I expected to see some big buff guy but no. He was thin, toned muscles, and he was more than likely fast on his feet. He was attractive, despite being dirty and sweaty. I held my breath, his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue...damn. I needed to snap out of it, my thing for blonde guys was seriously going to be my downfall.

"Back up." I ordered, he blinked dumbly at me. "Drop it."

He dropped the branch but pulled a gun out, pointing it in Daryl's direction. I pursed my lips, trying to remain calm. Losing my life didn't bother me but my brother was a different story, I couldn't lose him.

"Drop your weapons or your boyfriend here dies." He threatened, I almost scoffed.

"For one he's my brother and two, I'm not dropping shit until you tell me what the hell you want." I said, glancing back over my shoulder at the women.

"What we want?" He repeated. "You're the ones trying to take us back and we won't go."

I tilted my head to the side curiously, they totally thought we were someone else. Maybe if I just tried talking to him then he'd see reason, that we weren't a threat to him and those girls.

"Dude, you've got the wrong people. We aren't-"

"Stop lying and drop it!" He pressed.

'I can't just let him shoot my brother...fuck.'

I lowered the gun pointing back at the women before lowering the other, placing them on the ground in front of me after flipping the safety back on. I took a step back with my hands slightly raised, trying to show I wasn't a threat. The blonde moved forward, grabbing both guns with his still pointed at me.

"Sherry, put them in the bag along with that crossbow." He instructed, handing them off to the brunette. "You, put your bag on the ground and get up against the tree."

I did as I was told, facing the closest tree with my hands in front of me. I took a slow breath, shivers running down my spine when he placed his hands on my arms. He was checking to see if I had other weapons on me but his hands felt so damn good. It had been a long time since an attractive man had been this close to me. He pulled my hunting knife off my belt, handing it to the brunette known as Sherry. I groaned when his hand got to my ribs, he stopped.

"You hurt or something kid?" He asked, I wrinkled nose.

"For one, I'm not some kid; I'm 20. And for two, yeah. I don't know if it's broken or what." I said quietly, he grabbed ahold of my shoulders gently and said

"If you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you."

I scoffed quietly, what could I do? Leave my brother behind and run off? That wasn't who I was and I for damn sure wasn't starting now.

"We're chill then because I honestly just want to sit down, this hurts like a bitch." I complained.

He chuckled softly and led me away from the tree, walking backwards was something I was good at. He stopped, I looked over to see I was next to Daryl. He was still unconscious, I was screwed if I thought I could get out of this by myself.

"Go on, sit down." He instructed, his tone was softer than it'd first been.

I nodded and held my ribs, sitting next to my brother. I poked his stomach, he was out like a light. The other women sat across from me, starting a fire while the blonde put away his gun.

"Give me your hands sweetheart." He instructed, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Only if you promise not to call me sweetheart again." I grumbled; he chuckled a little and took my hands, binding them with some rope.

"Then what's your name?" He asked, I smirked.

"Angel."

He chuckled again at that, moving to bind my brother's hands as well.

"Not much better." He commented, I shrugged.

"So should I just call you the prick that knocked my brother out?" I joked, he sighed and moved over towards Sherry.

"I'm Dwight, that's Sherry and Tina." He said, I nodded.

"So what's your deal?" I asked, Sherry scoffed.

"We're tired of kneeling for you people." She said, sounding hateful.

"Dude, no need to be so rude. Just asking a question." I commented.

"You wanna be under someone's thumb like this, fine. We don't." Dwight said, I tilted my head curiously.

"Whatever floats your boat bro." I said boredly, he blinked dumbly at me.

"You think this shit is a game?" He growled, pulling out his gun.

I quickly shook my head, scooting in front of my brother to protect him.

"Dude, kill me if you want but don't hurt my brother." I mumbled that last part, lowering my head.

I looked up through my lashes at him, watching him finally put the gun away and turned to Daryl. He was breathing, thank God but what could I do to help him? I just had to wait until he woke up. I turned my attention to the trio, trying to figure them out. With night falling, I knew we were screwed until they got it through their skulls that we weren't the people after them.

I tilted my head to the side curiously as Dwight began carving something from a branch, Tina and Sherry were conversing quietly next to him. I focused my attention on Dwight, he was extremely handsome, I felt myself swooning. I needed to pull myself together, these people were a threat to us, no getting friendly with the enemy.

'Pull it together Angel.'

But I did the exact opposite of what I told myself, I said

"What are you doing?"

Dwight looked up from carving and found my eyes, I smiled a little. He stood up and walked around the fire to my side, showing me the carving. It looked like a soldier of some sort, it was so detailed and pretty. It wasn't finished but it was awesome.

"That's really cool." I said, he grinned and handed me some water.

"Thanks, my grandfather taught me. He was a professional wood carver, always carved the coolest things before he passed away." He said, watching me drink.

"Don't let her drink too much, we need that for later." Sherry ordered, I handed the water back instantly.

"How's your side?" He asked, sounding genuine; I shrugged.

"Hurts like a bitch still." I mumbled, trying not to sound whiny.

He put down the soldier and knife, turning his attention back to me.

"Want me to take a look?" He asked, I nodded.

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd just like to know if it's broken."

He nodded and took a hold of my shirt, pulling it up slightly and inspecting the problem rib. I held my breath as his fingers ghosted over my skin, trying not to shudder against his touch. Fuck his skin felt good, I could feel my insides squirming.

"Looks like it's just bruised pretty bad kid." He said, letting my shirt fall. "Should heal up in a week or so."

"Thanks and how many times do I have to say I'm not a kid?" I complained, he chuckled softly and went back to his carving.

"Get some rest, we move out early." He said, I pouted my lip.

"Can't you just let us go? We're not the people you think." I told him, trying to look cute.

He found my eyes, I could feel my cheeks heating up at the intensity of his gaze and a grin stretched it's way onto his face. He shook his head and I groaned. The morning couldn't have come sooner, I barely slept and when I finally did, I woke up to a gun in my face.

"Get up." Sherry ordered, I rolled my eyes at her.

"Whatever." I grumbled, sitting up. "Daryl, wake up."

I shook him softly, he stirred after a minute or two.

"Ange, what the hell..."

"Shh." I cooed. "We need to get going before this lady shoots us."

Daryl scoffed at Sherry, moving to his feet. He helped me to my feet, my ribs were still sore as all hell but they couldn't slow me down. I needed to try to convince Dwight to let us go. As we walked, Daryl continued to get more pissed off, it was the Dixon in him, I was the same way but I was going to try to keep a level head. The longer we walked, the more the trio opened up about a few things. One of them was that they burned down the forest we were in, eventually Tina collapsed and that gave us the chance to book it with their bag. Turns out that Tina was diabetic and her meds were in that bag, so we got our stuff out and head back in their direction.

"You're a softy Ange." Daryl teased, I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up asshole." I grumbled, pulling out my gun. "Lower your gun jerk!"

Dwight did as I said, looking reluctant as he put his gun back in his waistband. I smiled a little, trying to show we meant no harm.

"Thank you, here's your bag back."

He looked bewildered that we'd brought it back, his eyes found mine as Sherry grabbed the bag and administered the medicine to Tina.

"Why?" He asked, I smiled again.

"We're not bad people, it's not right to steal other people's stuff, especially medicine." I said with a shrug. "I just wanted my guns back."

"Come on Angel, we're going." Daryl said, I nodded but whipped my head around when I heard trucks approaching.

"Shit, they found us." Dwight swore.

"Come on."

Daryl grabbed Tina and carried her through the forest while the rest of us ran, the trucks were getting too close. We hid behind some trees for a while, some dumbass got bit by a walker and they seemed more concerned with treating his wound then finding us. So they left and we continued walking, Sherry apologized for not believing the two of us. I shrugged it off, trying to avoid looking at Dwight. His arm was wrapped loosely around Sherry's shoulders, obviously they were together and I felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner.

Eventually, we came across a burnt down house, Tina went running to it, acting like it was the worst thing in the world. Turned out it was, they had known the people covered in the glass and Tina was heartbroken over it.

"I did this." Dwight mumbled, Sherry shook her head.

"No, we did." She said, Daryl looked at me and I lowered my eyes.

I felt sorry for them, death wasn't a good thing to have on your conscious. He knew that I cared about people and that I felt sorry for people, even if I didn't know them. Daryl put a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. Tina grabbed some flowers, walking forward to the bodies.

"You shouldn't." I said, she stopped and looked back at me.

"I just..."

She stopped and Sherry moved to her side, taking the flowers. Dwight seemed a little concerned, he tried to take her hand to lead her away but she shrugged him off.

"I got it." She said, moving around Tina to the bodies.

"You don't know if it's safe." I said quickly, she ignored me and placed the flowers down between the bodies.

Turns out, I'd been right. The walkers broke through the glass, chomping down on Sherry. Daryl and I moved as fast as we could, stabbing them in the head but we weren't fast enough to save her. Tina collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down her face. Dwight let out a small sob, moving to Sherry's side, taking her hand. I swallowed the lump in my throat, saying

"I'm sorry."

He looked up into my eyes and nodded, the look showed me he knew that it wasn't my fault. That he didn't blame me. Daryl and I started working on digging a grave for her, Tina wouldn't stop crying. Who could blame her, she'd just lost her sister. After it was done, Daryl offered them a place in Alexandria. They seemed to agree at first but once we'd made it back to the bike, Dwight through his arm around my neck from behind me, a gun to my head. I felt his body press against me, his torso against my back. Even though I should've been scared, I wasn't. It just made me more attracted to him but hell, he'd just lost his wife. He wasn't looking for anything other than an escape attempt.

"Give her your weapons, now." He ordered, Daryl obeyed and handed over his crossbow.

Dwight moved his free hand around me, grabbing both my handguns and handed them to Tina. I felt the gun press into my temple harder, Daryl took that sign as a back the fuck up order. Dwight leaned his lips next to my ear and whispered

"I'm sorry about this, we have to go back though. Check your pocket when we're gone, hope you like it."

He moved away from me, pointing the gun towards Daryl as he made his way to the bike. He hopped on, Tina right behind him. She tossed us some bandages before they sped off after saying

"Sorry."

"You're gonna be." We yelled after them.

Later, I found a little wooden girl finished in my back pocket...my name carved across its chest.


	4. Chapter Three: The Meeting

Chapter Three: The Meeting

I lowered my gun and flipped the safety on, a small smile on my lips. It was Dwight, how had he known I'd be here? It must've just been a crazy coincidence, I figured I wouldn't have seen him again but there he was. His head was bent low, he was avoiding my eyes. Needless to say, I was happy to see him. Other than my school girl crush reason, I was worried that he'd be killed when he went back to wherever he'd gone. It was a relief to see him alive.

"Hey." I greeted, my smile widening. "I loved the girl you carved me."

He chuckled softly, nodding a little.

"Glad I could make a good first impression." He joked, I rolled my eyes.

"Well it was definitely better than the whole tying me up, putting a gun to my head kinda thing." I giggled, I saw the smallest smirk on his lips.

"What can I say, I'm a charmer." He teased, holstering his gun.

"Listen, I feel really bad about Sherry. It's been on my mind since it happened and I wanted to give you my condolences." I told him, he nodded a little.

"Thank you, really. That means alot." He said, his head still bent low. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Trying to prove my worth to the group." I said easily. "My brother is a protective son of a bitch and seems to think I need to be locked away like some little girl. Asshole acts like I'm a damsel that needs saving or some shit."

"You don't strike me as a damsel in distress."

He wouldn't look at me, did he blame me for Sherry? I hoped not, I tried to warn her but she wouldn't listen. It had cost her life in the end but I fully hoped he'd see that instead of being blinded by grief.

"You don't blame me for what happened do you? Is that why you won't look at me?" I questioned, my heart felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

"No Angel, it's not that." He said quickly, turning away from me.

"Then what is it?"

I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to understand. Had I done something wrong during our first/last meeting? Did he feel awkward because he knew I had a school girl crush on him? Fuck, this was just getting more weird the less he talked.

"When we went back...I wasn't able to dodge punishment. I don't want you to see it." Dwight said, sounding broken.

I felt my heart break at his words, I didn't care if it was a crush or whatever, he needed someone to lean on. I squeezed his shoulder sympathetically and moved around to where I could see the right side of his face.

"Dwight, please." I whispered, he turned to me and that's when I saw it.

The left side of his face was scarred, looking like it had been pressed down on a hot flat-grill. I felt tears run down my cheeks, my knees felt weak when I saw the look in his eyes. A look that told me he had been broken, that told me he thought he was hideous, a monster. Behind his whole bad ass act, I knew he was a good guy that was just in a bad situation. I wanted to help him, I was so emotional though that I didn't know what I could do.

"You could've come back with me!" I all but screamed. "Why didn't you come back with me, I could've helped you and Tina, could've kept you safe you idiot!"

He shoved me back against the truck, my gun fell from my hand as he pinned me against the truck. I felt more tears running down my cheeks and stared straight into his eyes.

"I could've helped you." I repeated, my voice cracking.

"No, you couldn't have. They would've found us and destroyed everyone in your camp." He told me, bowing his head.

"Just, please. Come back with me now, we can leave and they'll never find you." I murmured, he shook his head.

"I can't, I don't want them to hurt you Angel. And they will, they'll hurt you." He said softly, raising his eyes to meet mine.

"Why do you care what happens to me?" I cried, feeling frantic.

"Because I like you okay?" He yelled, I blinked dumbly. "I like you. You're beautiful, smart, funny, and one hell of a woman. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you."

"But...Sherry-"

"She was going to leave me if I didn't help her and Tina get out, that's why I left. For her. And after that, all I was to her was protection." He said, I slid my hand out of his grip and touched his scarred cheek.

"Come back with me." I repeated. "Please, stay with me."

"I can't, I'll keep you safe as long as I can." He swore. "And keeping you safe means staying away from you."

"Then why are you here with me now?" I exclaimed, feeling all the more upset.

"I just...I saw you and I couldn't stay away. I wanted...fuck, I don't know. I just wanted to see you again so I followed you here." He admitted, I felt my heart flutter.

"Dwight...I, don't want to be without you." I said, bowing my head. "I know that it sounds stupid because we don't know each other but I feel it. I feel it when I touch you, when I-"

"When I look into your eyes and when I feel the way my heart jumps when I see you." He finished, I looked up into his eyes.

"Does it feel like love at first site?" I asked, he chuckled.

"Shit, it seems like that huh?"

I nodded a little and he released my other hand, putting an arm around my waist and placing a hand on my hip. I looked up into his eyes again, my other hand on his shoulder.

"Just trust me okay, it has to be this way. When he finds your town, it's over. At least this way I can keep you safe for a while." He told me, I rolled my eyes.

"I thought I didn't look like a damsel." I teased, he smiled and leaned closer.

"Nah, but you're mine."

His lips met mine in the neediest kiss, I moved my lips against his with just as much enthusiasm. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest as our lips moved against each other's, I'd never felt anything like this before. It felt like we were two halves of a whole, finally meeting for the first time. I moved my fingers through his hair as the kiss deepened, trying to remain in control. My body was on fire though, I wanted more of him, all of him. Just as I thought that, he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine. I smiled, playing with a strand of his hair.

"You hot and bothered or something?" I joked, he chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, you drive me pretty crazy." He admitted. "I want this to be special though, it's not going to be in some damn road."

I nodded against his forehead, understanding what he meant. But damn, couldn't he have just warned me a little sooner. I moved my eyes up to his, smiling when he placed a kiss on my forehead.

"You need to get out of here, I have to go back." He murmured, moving his fingers through my hair.

"Back to Negan right?" I whispered, he looked at me with wide eyes.

"How do you know his name?" He asked, his arm around my waist tightened protectively.

"Some of his guys tried to take our shit, we blew them to pieces." I said easily, he bowed his head.

"Your people are fucked, when he finds your town...he's-"

"We're not afraid, we've dealt with people like this and we'll fight if we have to." I told him, he pulled me into a tight hug.

"You're so headstrong and stubborn. I love that about you but damn girl, don't get yourself killed." He asked of me, I nodded.

"Well, at least I got my man to keep me safe." I teased, Dwight moved back from my body slightly and grabbed his radio when a muffled sound came over.

"Say again?" He asked, kissing my temple.

"Find anything in that town?" The static sounding voice asked.

"Nah, nothing." He lied, holding my body close to his.

"Let's regroup then." The voice said.

"See ya in 15." Dwight said, putting the radio back on his belt. "I gotta head out Angel."

"Okay, I'll see you soon right?" I asked, he shrugged.

"I hope so." He whispered, gently pressing his lips against mine.

I melted into the kiss, trying to show him how I felt without saying 'I love you' too soon. I didn't want to screw myself over and get hurt, especially since I was hooking up with a potential enemy. I moved my lips against his one last time, smiling when we parted. He bent down and picked up my fallen gun, handing it over to me. I smiled, putting my gun in the holster and kissed his scarred cheek, trying to show that it didn't bother me, that he didn't have anything to worry about before turning to the truck.

"Be safe Angel." He said, I nodded and looked back at him over my shoulder.

"Same goes for you."

I opened the door and stepped up inside, watching him head across the street to the bike I knew to be Daryl's. He straddled the bike, starting it up. I put the key in the ignition of the truck and started it up, feeling sad to see him go.

"Oh and Angel." He hollered, I looked at him curiously. "Check your back pocket, hope you like it."

Before I could say a word he sped off and I rummaged through my pockets, pulling out a wooden sculpture. This time though, it was a necklace with a little wooden angel hanging from it. I smiled to myself, hanging my newest treasure around my neck before driving back towards Alexandria.

I made it back to Alexandria in about an hour, before I pulled up to the gates I tucked my necklace into my shirt. I didn't want Daryl to see it, I knew he'd be waiting at the gate for me and sure enough, he was the one to pull the gate open. I drove the truck through the gate and parked it immediately, hopping down from the truck.

"The hell were you thinking!?" Daryl yelled, I rolled my eyes.

"That we needed shit." I said matter of factly.

"Damn it Angel, I should-"

"Woah, easy." Rick said, walking up with Michone. "What's going on?"

"She left is what's goin' on." Daryl hollered

"By herself."

"Daryl I'm fine." I stated, putting my hands on my hips. "And I got a bunch of shit."

"What'd you find?" Rick asked, I motioned him to the back of the truck.

"See? 3 trash bags, there's medicine and all sorts of things for Judith. I got her some baby food in my bag in the front seat, there's everything from antibiotics to asprin." I told him, Daryl tightened his lips into a thin line.

"Where'd you get all this?" Michone asked, I smiled.

"I found an abandoned town, everything was intact. There's plenty more places there we can scavenge from, all this is just from the pharmacy." I told them, Rick tilted his head.

"You got all this, from one pharmacy?"

"That's right." I agreed. "There's so much more Rick, we need to take a team out there. I can show you where it is and-"

"Uh uh."

I turned to my brother, feeling angry that he couldn't just let me be an adult and help out.

"Ain't no way you're goin' out there again." He said, I pursed my lips.

"Damn it Daryl, can you not? Can you just not? I'm a grown woman and-"

"You're ain't goin' out there again, you hear me!" He yelled, Michone stepped in between us.

"Daryl, just calm down." Rick asked of him. "If what Angel says is true we need to check this place out."

"She ain't goin' out there again." Daryl repeated. "I won't let her."

"I'm not a child!" I screamed, they all stopped and focused on me. "I'm not, I want to help. I want to contribute to our home, our people. You can't stop me anymore than you can stop the sun from going down."

"The hell I can't."

"Daryl." I cried. "You can't keep doing this, you can't keep me locked up here. That's not going to keep me safe."

Michone put a hand on my shoulder and I bowed my head, trying to hide my tears.

"If those people we met on the road, Negan's people, come here. I won't be any safer than I am out there." I said frantically. "And I'd rather be out there, defending what we have than hiding in here, waiting for them to come knocking at our door."

I looked up through my lashes at my brother, trying to get him to see reason. He strode forward and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him.

"I hate when you're fuckin' right." He grumbled, I smiled and hugged him back.

"Are you ready to let me be an adult yet?" I asked, he nodded.

"Yeah Ange, I trust ya."


	5. Chapter Four: The Tracks

Chapter Four: The Tracks

"What the hell was that, you coulda died right there!"

I crossed my arms angrily, I couldn't believe Denise had just risked her life over a cooler, of all the things, a damn cooler.

"What's wrong with you?" I exclaimed, shaking my hair out of my face.

Denise shook her head, grabbing the cooler. She knew she was about to get bitched out for not listening, she could've died. She wasn't ready to be out here, what were we thinking letting her come along? I turned my attention to my brother, Daryl was clenching his fists, his knuckles were turning white. I looked to Rosita, she had a hand on her hip and was shaking her head to herself.

"The hell were you thinkin'." Daryl hollered, she opened the cooler.

"To get this." She said, holding up an eight pack of soda's.

I almost face palmed myself, Rosita hung her head.

"You risked your life for some damn sodas?" Rosita stated, Denise shook her head.

"Nope, just this one." She said, holding up the orange one.

It had been a few weeks since my and Daryl's argument, our relationship had significantly improved since then. He had stopped arguing against my roles in the community and was just letting me do my thing. I had a few weekly guard shifts by the gate, I was assisting on runs again, occasionally leading runs, I went on a mission to The Hilltop to start trading, and I'd even went on the latest mission to assassinate Negan's men to free Hilltop. We'd achieved in our efforts and I was feeling more grown up than ever.

During the mission, I'd been extremely nervous. I'd prayed and hoped with all my heart that Dwight wouldn't be there, I was a wreck about it until we'd finished slaughtering the men. Afterwards, I'd went room to room and checked the bodies, trying to find Dwight's body amongst the many that had been at the base. However, I hadn't so I could only assume he'd been on a run or something during the assassination.

I knew it was only a matter of time before I saw Dwight again, now that Negan was dead he would be able to come to me. Hopefully I'd find him on a run and he could come back with me. We'd be able to be together and possibly start a life together, I was ectastic about how things had been going. Maggie was even going to have a baby, things were falling perfectly into place. But right now, things with Denise needed to be set straight.

"You're crazy." Rosita said, snapping me back to reality.

"I took a risk." Denise said, walking over to us.

"A dumb one." I mumbled.

"Look, I'm not making this shit up as I go along. Not like the stitches or the surgery. I'm trained in this shit. You guys know this, that's why I asked all of you to come with me." She started, putting the soda in her bag. "I asked you to come because you're brave like my brother and sometimes make me feel safe. And I asked you to come, because you're alone. Maybe for the first time in your life and you're stronger than you think, you need to know that."

She turned to me, I blinked curiously. If she was going to say something about me being a child or immature, I was probably going to explode.

"And I asked you, because I want to be like you. You're so much younger than me but you're one of the strongest in this group. You give me hope that I can be like that too."

I felt a small smile come to my lips, she was trying. I could see that, she was trying so hard to be brave and strong. I admired that she wanted to change, she had already taken on so much and she wanted to do more. That was amazing and it showed me how strong our group could truly be. I looked at Daryl and Rosita, they still didn't get it. I rolled my eyes and went to collect the cooler, it was something we could probably use in the future while Denise tried to get them to understand what she was saying. I grabbed the cooler, turning when I heard the sound of a crossbow being fired.

"Wake...Up."

'No.'

"Denise!" I yelled, I felt my stomach drop when I saw the arrow through her eye.

It was like she fell in slow motion, Daryl catching her, Rosita cocking her gun. I dropped the cooler, running in their direction across the tracks. I had almost made it as Daryl raised his gun next to Rosita's, when an arm went around my neck from behind me.

"Angel!"

I heard Daryl scream my name as I gasped at the arm around my windpipe, my back hit a man's chest. I felt myself relax slightly when I heard a familiar voice whisper in my ear.

"Hey babe."

'Dwight.'

"Lower your guns now!" He ordered.

I moved my hand to grab my gun when I saw movements step up beside us, Dwight loosened his grip around my neck.

"Don't, just play it cool." He whispered, holding the crossbow loosely at his side.

I swallowed, feeling nervous. Negan must've been alive then, if Dwight was here with other men, that had to mean he was still alive. We had just started a war and we didn't even know how many people we were up against.

"Angel!"

I moved my head in my brother's direction, taking hold of Dwight's arm around my throat. Obviously he didn't want to hurt me but he had to make this look convincing around his fellow Saviours, I had to make my part as real as I could.

"Let me go." I ordered, trying to pull away from him.

"Awe come on darlin', we aren't gonna hurt ya." Dwight teased, pulling my body closer to his.

I felt his hips knock against me, I almost groaned when I realized how much he wanted me but I bit my tongue to hold it in.

"Get your hands off my sister!" Daryl hollered, raising his gun; Rosita copied his actions.

I whipped my head around to see another man pushed to his knees, a gun pointed at his head, Eugene.

"No, don't hurt him." I pleaded.

Eugene looked scared shitless, he hadn't been in a situation like this before and I knew he was internally freaking out. I needed to get him out of this situation, somehow. I pressed my lips into a thin line when I felt Dwight's place his chin on my shoulder, his hot breath in my ear. Damn this man was driving me crazy. He moved his arm down from my neck to around my waist, holding my body close to his. Daryl was staring him down, probably killing Dwight a thousand times over in his head.

"You got something to say to me?" He asked. "Want to clear the air, step up on that high horse? No, you don't talk much."

He nodded his head at the other Saviours, they moved forward, grabbing all weapons off Rosita and my brother. Dwight saw Daryl eyeing the crossbow and raised it slightly.

"Still getting used to her. Kicks like a bitch but uh-"

"I shoulda done it." Daryl said.

"Oh what was that?" Dwight pried, his arm tightening around my waist. "Seriously, I didn't catch that."

"I shoulda killed ya." Daryl said gruffly.

"Yeah you probably shoulda. That begs the question right? Who brought this on who? I mean, I get you'll have to take my word on this but she wasn't even the one I was aiming for. Like I said, kicks like a bitch. It's nothing personal, look it isn't how we like to start new business arrangements. But, you pricks kinda set the tone didn't you."

"Let them go!" Rosita commanded, I took a slow breath.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name sweetheart. I'm D or Dwight, whichever you wanna call me." Dwight said, I bit my lip nervously as Rosita glared daggers at him. "So, what's your name."

"Rosita." She said, her Spanish coming through in her voice.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to remain calm.

"It's not what we want." Dwight said, tightening his grip around my waist. "It's what you, Daryl and Rosita are going to do. You're gonna let us into your little complex, looks beautiful in there and you're gonna let us take whatever and whoever we want. Or we blow Eugene's brains out, then yours." He continued, pointing the crossbow in Rosita and Daryl's direction. "I hope it doesn't come to that. Really, nobody else has to die. We'll just stop with one. You know, maximum impact to get our point across. So, what's it going to be?"

Eugene was hyperventilating at this point, breathing as though he was going to pass out. I shook my head, not wanting it to come to this. We shouldn't have shot up Negan's men, we were royally screwed.

"You wanna kill someone, you start with our companion hiding over there behind the oil barrels." Eugene spoke nervously. "He's a first class a hole and deserves it so much more than us four."

Dwight moved his head in the direction Eugene was talking about, the other Saviours following his gaze. Dwight pulled his pistol out of a holster, I recognized it to be my old one he'd taken during out first encounter.

"Go, check it out." He instructed, a couple of the men followed his orders and head in that direction.

I looked over towards the barrels, wondering why Eugene would sell Abraham out like that, that could've been our shot to get out of this mess. The Saviours got closer and then the unexpected happened, Eugene attacked the Saviour next to him in the most creative way possible, by biting his dick. The saviour screamed and then Abraham began firing from the trees. I gasped and Dwight pulled us to the ground, I looked up through the shots to see Rosita and Daryl going for the guns.

"Dwight."

"I'll explain when I can Angel, go!" He ordered so only so I could hear.

"Don't die."

I scrambled away from him, pulling out my pistols and shooting at every Saviour that wasn't Dwight. I made my way to Daryl's side, grabbing a rifle. I shot at the bastard Eugene had attacked, hitting him right in the face. Eugene crawled behind the tracks for cover as we pushed the Saviours to retreat.

"Fall back, fall back!" Dwight screamed, making a beeline for the forest.

He took one last look over his shoulder, our eyes met only for a moment and I swore they told me how sorry he was. He hadn't wanted any of this. I watched him go for a third time, wishing with all my heart he could be by my side back in Alexandria. We regrouped and gathered our supplies quickly, heading down the tracks towards home. I bowed my head and put my hand in my back pocket, not surprised that my hand touched another wooden sculpture but the piece of paper there...now that was a surprise.


	6. Chapter Five: Where We're Going

Chapter Five: Where We're Going

 _My dearest Angel_

 _*I know you won't be reading this until after I see you and I wish to God it wasn't under these circumstances. Negan has ordered us to take Alexandria, he wants your town under his thumb just like the others he already owns. I want you to be safe, you can't go outside the walls anymore. I know what it means to you but please, stay inside and safe. I wish I could be there to protect you and make sure nothing happens to you, but I can't. If I don't follow orders, I'll be dead and there will be no one on the inside to keep you safe. I know you're strong, I have faith in that but it would kill me if something were to happen to you. He's coming for Alexandria, soon. Whether it be by an army or through capturing some of your people, keep it together for me. One day, we'll be free to start a life together and I will never leave your side. Until that day, I'm forever and always yours.*_

 _D_

I held the letter close to my chest, trying not to sigh like some love sick school girl. Dwight had risked everything getting this to me, I had to be sure it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. I looked around my room, trying to think of a place to hide it from prying eyes. The angel he'd made for me hung from my neck, it was something I'd never take off but I needed to hide all other evidence of our involvement with each other. I moved off my bed to my dresser, grabbing the wooden girl and wooden angel he'd left me with the letter, placing them in a small bag. I folded the letter, hiding it inside as well and moved to the vent in the floor. I pulled off the cover, shoving the bag down into the vat and placed the cover back on.

"Angel!" Daryl yelled, I head out of my room to find him in the kitchen.

"What's up?" I asked, watching him throw his crossbow over his shoulder.

"Rick asked if you could watch Judith for a bit, Carl needs some teenage company." He joked, I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, no problem. I got it."

"See ya punk." He teased, ruffling my hair as he walked passed.

"Love you!"

"Love ya Ange."

He headed out of the house, I followed closely behind him but headed in the direction of Rick's place. I walked up the stairs to the porch, smiling when I saw Carl sitting with Judith. She looked so happy, just clapping her hands and giggling like a lunatic. I loved babies, I couldn't wait for Maggie's to get here and hopefully...have my own child one day.

"Hey man." I greeted, Carl looked up at me.

"Angel, what's up?"

"Just reporting for babysitting duty." I replied, sitting on the railing.

"Babysitting?" Carl questioned, I shrugged.

"Yeah, Daryl said Rick wanted me to watch Judith with you." I said, picking her up.

I wiggled my nose at her, she cooed happily in response and grabbed at it. Carl stood up, looking at me with a confused expression.

"No."

"No, what?" I pressed, feeling confused that he was confused.

"My dad didn't say anything about needing you to watch Judith." He told me, I tilted my head curiously.

"But why would Daryl say..."

I stopped when I realized he'd lied to me...he was going after Dwight.

"Shit!"

"What?" Carl pried.

"Come on, we have to find your dad." I urged, running down the stairs with Judith.

Carl followed behind me and we broke out into a run, I explained what was happening on the way to the gate. Carl was just as mortified as I was. We knew my brother could take care of himself against walkers, but Negan's men were a whole new territory that we knew nothing about. Daryl would get himself killed if we didn't stop him. And even if Daryl did survive, he could kill Dwight and that was something I didn't think I'd be able to handle. We approached the gate at lightening speed, Rick was about to get in a car with Morgan.

"Rick!" I screamed.

"Dad!" Carl yelled, Rick stopped in his tracks and turned to us.

I slowed to a halt, facing Rick with Carl at my side. I bounced Judith on my hip, trying to keep her smiling.

"Rick, Daryl...he-"

"Went looking for the Saviours, I know." Rick finished, I nodded.

"Are you going after him now?" I panted, feeling out of breath.

"No." Rick said, shaking his head.

"But dad-"

"It's okay. Michone, Rosita and Glenn just left to bring him back." He told us, I shook my head.

"No, I have to go out there. I have to stop him." I implored, he shook his head.

"I need you here Angel. Now, Morgan and I have to go out and find Carol. She left this morning and we need to bring her home." He said, I felt my eyes widen.

"What, but...why?" I asked, Rick sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll bring her back. The others will bring Daryl back and we'll get working on a game plan against the Saviours." He said, I nodded a little. "Hold the fort down while we're gone."

"Got it dad." Carl said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

Rick nodded and got in the car, driving out the gate. I looked at Carl, feeling all the more worried. Half our best fighters were gone, what were we supposed to do if there was an attack?

"It'll be okay Angel, they'll be back." Carl said, Judith laid her head on my shoulder and I nodded in agreement.

I trusted Carl, we'd grown very close during our time together since Atlanta. He was like a younger brother to me and I knew he saw me as a big sister, we trusted each other. I wanted to believe he was right but I couldn't shake the feeling something very bad was about to happen.

I was pacing around Maggie's kitchen while Enid cut her hair, trying to pull myself together. It'd been hours since Daryl had left and he wasn't back yet, I was growing beyond worried. I'd spent some time with Carl and Judith, trying to distract myself but I'd finally went to Maggie's, needing another female to talk to.

"What if they found him and he's dead?" I said for close to the hundredth time.

"Don't worry." Maggie said, smiling a little. "They'll be back soon, your brother is stubborn. Probably took a bit to convince him out of it is all."

I groaned loudly, Enid handed Maggie a mirror to examine her new look.

"Can you just chill?" Enid asked, watching me pace the floor again.

"No damn it, he's my brother and he's an idiot." I complained, Maggie let out a groan and I stopped.

"Maggie, are you..."

The rest of my words were drowned out by her screaming, she collapsed on the floor and we rushed to her side.

"Oh god, Maggie!" Enid exclaimed, Maggie cried out again in pain.

"I'll get Rick."

I bolted out of the house as fast as my legs could carry me, screaming Rick's name and for help. Carl ran across the street to me panicked and I broke down in tears, telling him that something was wrong with Maggie and the baby. Not too long after, more of the gang piled into the conversation and Rick said that we needed to get her to The Hilltop doctor. We began loading up the RV, gathering gas and weapons for the road. We weren't going to get ambushed by the Saviours. I only hoped Daryl would stay put when he got back.

We managed to get Maggie into the RV, a group of us piling in. Eugene and Sasha worked on navigating the fastest route, Abraham would be the driver, Rick the leader of course, Carl and I weren't going to leave Maggie's side and even Aaron pushed to come with. We had a boat load of people but we were going to ensure Maggie's safety. No one was going to stop us from getting her to a doctor. We head out the gates and began our journey, following the route Eugene and Sasha had suggested. Not too long into our journey, the RV pulled to a stop. I released Maggie's hand.

"I'm going to see what the hold up is, I'll be back." I told her, she nodded weakly and I head to the front. "What's going on?"

"The Saviours." Carl said, I looked around him out the window.

"Shit." I cursed.

There were 8 men standing in the road, 3 cars behind them, blocking our way. Another man was lying on the ground, looking as though he'd been beaten. What the hell was happening?

"We doing this?" Abraham asked.

"No." Rick said, a small shake of his head.

Abraham shut off the RV and Rick headed out the door, gun in hand. The rest of us followed behind him, ready for whatever was going to come next. Rick halfway raised both his hands in the air as he walked, we stopped behind him, guns ready for a showdown.

"He was with a whole lot of someone's who didn't listen." The leader of the Saviours spoke.

"We can make a deal." Rick said, hands still raised. "Right here, right now."

"That's right, we can." The man replied. "Give us all your stuff, we'll probably have to kill one of you because that's how it is. But then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen."

"Yeah." Rick said, putting both his hands down and holding his rifle. "That deal's not going to work for us. The fact is, I was about to ask for all your stuff only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you. Anymore, of you."

One of the guys shook a spray paint can, spraying something on the guy on the ground. I pulled my hood up over my head, placing my rifle on my shoulder.

"Sorry." The leader said. "My deal is the only deal."

Rick moved his hand up above his head, signaling us to fall back.

"Then me and my people are leaving."

We all walked backwards towards the RV, the leader said

"Okay friend. There are many ways to get to where you're going."

I entered the RV, looking over my shoulder at Rick when I heard him say

"You wanna make today your last day on earth?"

I walked the rest of the way up the stairs, not needing to hear the rest. Rick was going to get us to hilltop, even if we had to go a different way. I went back to the map, trying to find an alternate route with Eugene. The RV began backing up, turning itself around for another route.

"We got visibility on shelton. " I said, Eugene nodded in agreement.

However, no matter what route we took, we always seemed to be one step behind the Saviours, every route there were more of them than the last. We were cut off in every direction, they were toying with us and we were running low on fuel. The walkers they'd chained up had things belonging to our people, Glenn, Michone, Rosita, my brother. They had them and I was scared for my brother but Maggie was getting worse by the minute, she'd spiked a fever and looked seriously ill. We had to do something, we had to get her there before she lost the baby or worse. Finally, I went to the front to talk with Rick.

"We have to do something, she's getting worse Rick." I said, Carl nodded next to me.

"Dad, she could lose the baby if we don't." Carl said, Rick sighed.

"I know, they're pushing us in this direction for some reason." He stated, I bowed my head.

"Rick, I have an idea." I told him, he looked at me. "What if we go through the woods, carrying the bed. One of us can drive the RV around as a distraction, keep them from seeing what we're doing."

"She's right." Sasha agreed. "They're looking for us on the road."

"And we can get Maggie there that way dad, Angel knows the woods as well as Daryl." Carl pressed, Rick nodded.

"Okay, we'll give it a shot."

"It's the only damn one we got left." Abraham said, Rick sighed in agreement.

So we stopped on the side of the road and moved the bed out of the RV, I covered Maggie with some blankets, hoping that could break the fever while we made our way to hilltop.

"Thank you." Maggie whispered, I smiled softly at her.

"Don't worry, we'll get you there." I swore, watching Eugene climb back up into the RV.

Carl and I took point, leading the rest of the group through the woods. As the night fell, we only had a few more miles to go after traveling for a good bit. I was determined that we'd get her there, then we'd make a game plan to rescue my brother and the rest of our people.

"We're getting closer, just a little further guys." I said, looking back over my shoulder. "Only a few miles left."

I pulled my hood over my head, holding my rifle in both hands. I believed in our group, more than I'd believed in anything else in my whole life. We were survivors and we were going to make it.

My head snapped when I heard a whistle, I looked around as the whistling continued in all directions.

"Go!" Rick yelled.

We bolted, with Carl and I in the lead we prayed we could lead our group in the right direction. I looked over at him fearfully, he grabbed my hand as the whistling continued. We ran into a clearing and then, the place lit up with car lights, whistling echoing all around us, people...so many people surrounded us.

'Fuck!'

Carl turned me around, our backs pressed together as we attempted to guard our group. Sasha and Aaron were guarding the sides as we guarded the front. I was a panicked mess, there were a countless number of men surrounding us, we weren't getting out of this; we were doomed. I felt my heart sink when I saw the RV, Eugene was sitting on the ground with a gun pointed at him.

"Good." The man from the first group said, walking forward. "You made it, welcome to where you're going."

I stood planted to the ground, my gun felt heavy in my hands as I looked around, I felt dazed.

"We'll take your weapons." The man said, pulling out his gun. "Now."

"We can talk about-"

"We're done talking." The man said, interupting Rick. "Time to listen."

A group of Saviours swarmed us, taking all our guns and weapons on hand. The main man took Carl's gun and bent down until he was level with him.

"This is your's right?" He asked, Carl didn't say anything. "Yeah, it's yours."

He flicked Carl's hat up and stood straight, saying

"Okay, let's get her down and get you all on your knees. Got lots to cover."

"Hold up, we got it." Abraham said, when a few of the Saviours tried to approach us.

"Sure, sure." The man replied.

I turned to Carl, taking his hand as Abraham and Rick lowered the bed, helping Maggie to her feet. I squeezed his hand, trying to hold myself together and he held mine just as tightly. We walked forward, following behind Rick and Abraham. The man pulled Eugene to his feet, hauling him over to us.

"I'm going to need you on your knees."

I stood between Sasha and Carl, trying to stay level headed. I didn't want any of my family to die, this was it...Rick got to his knees, the rest of us followed his example, feeling scared. I sat between Aaron and Carl, I continued to hold Carl's hand tightly, trying to be brave.

"Let's get the others out, Dwight!"

I moved my eyes up from the ground when I heard his name and looked around frantically for him.

"Yeah."

"Chop, chop."

I felt the scared feeling wash away when I saw him walk up, my brother's crossbow in hand. He looked over his shoulder in our direction before he headed over to a truck, opening up the back. He didn't look too worried about anything, he hadn't seen me yet. I hoped he wouldn't have to see me in this situation, I didn't want him to be disappointed in me for not listening to his advice.

"Come on, you got people to meet." He said, hauling out...Daryl.

I felt my heart drop when I saw him, he was covered with a sheet and there were patterns of red staining it all over. He was pale, circles under his eyes and blood covering almost all his body. Carl squeezed my hand, trying to reassure me that we'd manage to get through this somehow. Then out came Michone, Rosita and Glenn. Glenn was struggling against them before he was thrown to the ground, he looked up and I knew he found Maggie instantly.

"Maggie."

Maggie began crying, whimpering softly when she saw him. I hated seeing Dwight acting so cruel, I knew it was an act but it was a damn good one; I couldn't take it. I looked away when I heard Dwight growl

"On your knees."

"Alright, we got a full boat. Let's meet the man." The main guy said, knocking on the door of the RV.

And then...

"Pissing our pants yet?"


	7. Chapter Six: Lucille

Chapter Six: Lucille

* * *

A man with a smile walked into the light, a baseball bat over his shoulder.

"Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close." He said, still smiling widely. "Yep. Gonna be pee pee pants city here real soon. Which one of you pricks is the leader?"

"It's this one." The other man said, pointing to Rick. "He's the one."

The smiling man stopped in front of Rick, staring him down.

"Hi, you're Rick right? I'm Negan."

I felt my heart stop, no. Not now. Not him. Not this. This couldn't be happening. I squeezed Carl's hand tighter, trying to bring myself back down to earth.

"And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people, to kill your people for killing my people. You killed more of my people, not cool. Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But, I think you're going to be up to speed shortly. Yeah. You are so going to regret crossing me in a few minutes, yes you are."

I bowed my head, trying to stay inconspicuous for as long as possible. I didn't want Dwight to see me here, I didn't want him to worry about me or do something stupid and wind up dead.

"You see Rick whatever you do, you do not mess with the new world order. New world order being this and it's very simple, so even if you're stupid, which you very well may be, you can understand it. You ready? Here it goes, pay attention."

I glanced over to see the bat was covered in barbed wire, I supressed a shudder and continued to keep my head down.

"Give me your shit, or I will kill you. Today was career day. We invested alot so you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now I know, that is a mighty big nasty pill to swallow. But swallow it, you most certainly will. You rule the roost, you built something. You thought you were safe, I get it. But, the word is out. You are not safe. Not even close. In fact, you are pegged. More pegged, if you don't do what I want. And what I want, is half your shit." Negan said, pacing up and down the line of us as he talked.

"And if that's too much you can make, find or steal more. And it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now, the more you fight back, the harder it will be. So someone knocks on your door, you let us in. We own that door. You try to stop us and we will knock it down. You understand?"

He leaned down close to Rick with his hand to his ear, chuckling when Rick didn't say anything.

"What, no answer? You don't really think you were going to get through this without actually getting punished did you? I don't want to kill you people, I just want to get that out from the get go. I want you to work for me, you can't do that if you're dead now can you? I'm not growing a garden. But, you killed my people. A whole damn lot of them, more than I'm comfortable with. And for that, for that you gotta pay. So now, Ima beat the holy hell out of one of you."

I glanced up, watching him twirl the bat and point it at Rick's face.

"This, this is Lucille. And she is awesome." He said, pacing again. "All this, all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor."

He stood in front of Abraham, who rose to the challenge, not fearing death, I lowered my head and Carl squeezed my hand again.

"Huh." Negan mumbled, running his fingers across his beard. "I gotta shave this shit."

Negan stopped in front of Carl and I, I kept my gaze on the ground.

"You, got one of our guns." Negan said, talking to Carl. "You got alot of our guns. Shit kid, lighten up. At least cry a little."

He chuckled, continuing his pacing before stopping in front of Maggie.

"Jesus, you look shitty. Let's just put you out of your misery right now." Negan said, raising his bat.

Before I could release Carl's hand and try to protect her, Glenn had gotten up and attempted to protect Maggie.

"No, no!" He screamed before getting tackled to the ground.

"Stop it!" Maggie cried when they started hitting him, I raised my eyes to see it had been a few men and Dwight.

I lowered my head again, trying to keep my mouth shut and looked back up to see Dwight holding onto Glenn, an arrow in his face.

"Nope, nope. Get him back in line." Negan instructed, Dwight dragged him back with the help of a couple other saviours.

"No, no." Glenn was saying. "Don't, don't."

"Alright, listen. Don't ever, any of ya, do that again. I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. First one's free, it's an emotional moment. I get it." He said, a smile still on his face. "Sucks don't it. The moment you realize you don't know shit."

He turned from Rick to Carl, pointing the bat in our direction.

"This is your kid right?" He chortled. "This is definitely, your kid."

"So stop this!" Rick yelled.

"Hey!" Negan interupted. "Do not make me kill the future little serial killer. Do not make it easy on me. I gotta pick somebody, everybody's at the table waiting for me to order."

He whistled for a minute while pacing and finally said

"I simply can not decide. I got an idea."

And then he was doing the Eenie Meenie Minee, Mo. Pointing each of us out with his bat as he went, Carl tightened his hand around mine. This was it, one of us was about to die. I moved my eyes from the ground as it neared the end, waiting to see who it would land on and I had the strongest feeling it would be...

"It."

I didn't raise my head when I saw the bat in front of my face, I released Carl's hand.

"No." He whispered, I let a small sigh pass through my lips.

"Shit, our mystery person here doesn't seem to notice that they have received the honor." Negan chuckled, twirling his bat. "Phil, pull that damn hood off so we can meet them."

I felt my hood being grabbed from behind, my jacket was jerked off from the tug, my hair falling all around my face.

"Damn it." Negan swore. " I really hate killing women but you are it my dear, so chin up. You're taking one for the team."

I raised my eyes from the ground, moving my hair out of my face. I was ready, I was ready to die. He'd probably smash my skull in so it'd destroy my brain and I wouldn't turn into a walker. It'd be painful as hell but it was better than ending up a monster. I looked up into Negan's eyes, trying to keep a straight face.

"Hold the phone!" Negan exclaimed, resting his bat on his shoulder. "You, are smokin' hot."

I held my breath and glanced in Dwight's direction. His face almost gave him away, he looked mortified, his eyes looked like they were watering from this distance, as though he were about to start crying over me. He had to care for me the way I cared for him, I could feel our connection from here. I moved my eyes back to Negan, tightening my lips into a thin line. I wasn't going to cry in my final moments.

"Hell, I can't kill you. I like keeping pretty faces around to look at and you, my dear...have a damn fine face."

I blinked dumbly, looking at Carl bewildered. Was he seriously not going to kill me because he thought I was pretty? I looked around, trying to find out if he was joking. The rest of the group looked relieved, I looked over towards Daryl. He'd almost come running, I knew it. He would've gladly sacrificed his life for mine, even though I wouldn't want him to. I moved my eyes above his head, finding Dwight's face. His eyes told me how worried he was, how he wished I wasn't here, and that he wanted to protect me. I wished I wasn't here at this moment either, I didn't know what was going to happen now. The relieved look on his face however, gave me hope that we'd be able to survive this ordeal...together.

"Alright, let's try this shit one more time." Negan said, sounding pumped up. "No more surprise hot women."

And so it began again, the bat skipped over me each time he passed me. He was going in a different order than before, I couldn't guess who he was going to end up on until.

"It."

'No.'

"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father. And then we'll start. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Hell, you're all going to be doing alot of that."

And then the bat swung down on Abraham's head, blood running from his hair to his forehead.

"Woah, woah, look at that. Taking it like a champ."

"Suck...my...nuts." Abraham growled.

The bat swung down again on his head, more gasps and cries escaped our group as he continued to beat him over the head until there was almost nothing left. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks but I refused to let any noise pass through my lips, Carl took my hand again and held it tightly in his.

"You hear that?" Negan said, breathing heavily through laughing. " He said, 'suck my nuts'."

He laughed and continued beating Abraham's skull in with the bat.

"Oh, my, gosh. Look at this." He said through fits of laughted. "Look at this."

He twirled the bat, blood splattering on the ground and on some of us.

"Look at my dirty girl. Sweetheart, lay your eyes on this." He said, shoving the bat in Rosita's face. "Oh damn. Were, were you two together? That sucks. But if you were, you should know. There was a reason for all this. Red, and hell he was, is and forever will be Red. He took one, no six, no seven for the team. So take, a damn, look. Take a damn look."

I cried out when Daryl pushed his way up from the ground and ran at Negan, giving him a well deserved punch to the face. Saviours swarmed him, tackling him to the ground. Carl held my hand tightly as I cried, trying to keep me from getting to my feet. I looked to see Dwight shove the crossbow in Daryl's face, his finger above the trigger.

'Please, no. Please don't tell Dwight to kill him.'

I had to admit, Dwight was playing his role well. I was almost convinced that he was on Negan's side. Almost, until he glanced over and found my eyes. I felt my heart warm up instantly when our gaze met, his eyes told me to just hold on a little longer.

"No!" Negan hollered, pointing the bat. "No. That, oh my. That, is a no no. Not one bit of that shit flies here."

"You want me to do it? Right here?" Dwight asked, I couldn't hold myself back.

"No!" I yelled; Dwight's head turned in my direction, fear flashing through his eyes.

Negan stood up from his crouched position next to Daryl, strolling over in my and Carl's direction. He bent down until he was level with us, staring me straight in the face.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, did you want to say something to me?" He teased, I inhaled sharply.

"Please." I choked. "Not...my brother. Please."

"Huh." He said with a grin, clicking his tongue; he got to his feet. "Get him back in line."

I looked over at Dwight, he looked relieved that Negan hadn't said anything else. He grabbed Daryl by the collar and drug him backwards with the assistance of other saviours. Once Daryl was back in line, Negan continued.

"Anyway. That's not how it works. Now, I already told you people. First one's free. Then, what I say? I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. Now I don't what kind of lying assholes you've been dealing with, but I'm a man of my word. First impressions are important. I need you, to know me. So." He stopped, spinning his bat. "Back to it."

And then, the bat swung down on Glenn's head.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, I know this story isn't my best work. I went into a long hiatus, a couple years actually so I've lost a bit of my talent. I'm trying to gain it back so please bear with me. I'm doing my best here guys, thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter Seven: Another Chance

Chapter Seven: Another Chance

* * *

I cried out softly, no. Not Glenn, he, was going to be a father. This had to be a bad dream, this couldn't be happening. Negan hit Glenn over the head again, Maggie cried out. I raised my eyes from the ground, horrified at the sight of him. Blood, so much blood. He'd been hit so hard one of his eyes had popped out of it's socket. Maggie was sobbing quietly, her eyes never leaving her husband. My heart was breaking for them, I couldn't hold back the tears. Glenn was groaning, trying to get words out.

"Buddy you still there?" Negan joked. "I just don't know, it seems like you're trying to speak. But you just took a hell of a hit. I just popped your skull so hard your eyeball just popped out. And it is gross as shit."

"Maggie...I...will...find...you." Glenn managed to get out.

Maggie sobbed louder, looking as though she were close to collapsing. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks but I couldn't look away, no matter how much I wanted to.

"Oh hell." Negan sighed. "I can see this is hard on all of you. I'm sorry, I truly am. But I did say, no exceptions."

And then the bat was swung at Glenn again, I managed to look away, I couldn't watch this again. Carl found my eyes, silently telling me to be strong. I bowed my head, hair falling down both sides of my face. I heard every blow, I felt my body shaking with each one.

"You bunch of pussies. I'm just getting started." Negan said, pounding on Glenn's head and laughing softly. "Lucille, is thirsty. She's a vampire bat."

After what seemed like hours, he walked away from Glenn's body. Everyone was crying and sobbing, it felt like my soul had taken a hit by a sledgehammer. I felt the tears rolling harder than they had for Abraham, Glenn was the first friend I'd made outside of my brother. I cried quietly, holding onto Carl's hand for dear life and had the other wrapped around my body, trying to keep myself from falling apart.

"What, was the joke that bad?" Negan chortled, I looked over to see Rick raise his head.

"I'm gonna kill you."

Negan walked over and crouched down until he was level with Rick, looking him in the face with the bloodied bat by his side. I glanced up at Dwight, finally understanding why he was so afraid of Negan. He had no soul, no heart, he didn't care about anyone's lives other than his own. Dwight found my eyes, my tear stained face. I thought I saw a stray tear slip down his cheek but it was still too dark to see anything clearly.

"What, I didn't quite catch that, you're gonna have to speak up." Negan teased, snapping my attention back to him.

"Not today, not tomorrow, but I'm gonna kill you. " Rick grunted, Negan made a quiet noise with his lips

"Jesus. Simon, what'd he have, a knife?" Negan asked, looking at the older man from before.

"He had a hatchet." Simon replied, Negan looked at him a confused.

"A, hatchet?" He questioned.

"Hand axe." Simon clarified, Negan made another noise.

"Simon's my right hand, having one of them is important. What do you have without them...a whole lot of work. You have one? Maybe one of these fine people still breathing? Oh, or did I." He said, making a clucking type of noise while moving his bat in a hitting motion.

Negan sighed when Rick didn't respond and stared him down.

"Sure. Yeah. Give me his axe."

Simon walked over and handed it over to him, Negan put it on his belt after he dangled it in front of Rick teasingly. He grabbed Rick by the collar of his jacket and began dragging him off, saying

"We'll be back, maybe Rick will be with be with me. If not, well we can just turn these people inside out. I mean, the ones that are left."

And he walked inside the RV, but not before shoving Rick in forcefully, the door slammed shut behind them. Finally after a few minutes, the RV roared to life and they drove off. I looked over at Carl, wiping at my eyes. He nodded a little to me, silently saying he wasn't going to let anything happen to me. I nodded back to him, trying to say the same. Our silent pact with each other.

"Alright." Simon said cheerfully, clapping his hands together. "Since the man has departed for the time being, you may converse among yourselves but don't for a second, think you can get up from the spot your in. If you do, well. Look at the dead ones on the ground."

Maggie sobbed quietly, Sasha took hold of her shoulders and tried to steady her. Rosita continued crying silently, Michone moved her hand to hers, attempting to comfort her. I felt Carl release my hand, placing his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him, crying into his shoulder.

"Angel." He whispered. "It'll be okay, we're going to be okay."

I nodded against his shoulder, trying to pull it together. I wasn't usually much of a crier but today had been the worst day of my life, I knew it could get worse so I tried my hardest to trust Carl and push the rest to the back of my mind. I pulled away from Carl, wiping at my eyes and looked to Aaron.

"Does...does he look okay?" I asked him, Aaron looked in my brother's direction.

He knew I couldn't see over everyone, I was short and I was afraid to try to scoot forward to get a look at my brother. I didn't want to get killed after my life had just been spared.

"He's not going to die if that's what you mean." He whispered, turning back to me. "If anything he just looks pale, he's lost alot of blood. I'm surprised he hasn't passed out yet."

I nodded, taking Carl's hand when I felt his touch mine.

"Angel, don't worry." Aaron asked of me. "We're going to make it through this night."

"I hope you're right." I murmured.

"We will." Carl agreed; I nodded, trying to show him that I trusted him.

I didn't say anything again for a few minutes, the sun was starting to rise in the distance. I kept trying to look around everyone so I could catch Daryl's eye. He finally looked up at me and nodded, I smiled weakly. I didn't want him to be afraid for me but I had a feeling he already was. Negan sparing me had been a complete turn around, he had contradicted himself after saying that everyone was up for the bat.

I looked up when I heard some footsteps approaching, I felt my heart warm up when I saw it was Dwight. He crouched down in front of me, a grin on his lips, Carl tightened his hand around mine. I knew that Dwight was faking this badass routine and he was trying to keep his feelings for me hidden, all to keep me safe. I was good at playing along with his antics, it was kind of fun in a twisted sort of way. I knew he'd come over to secretly check on me, he had been giving me looks that told me how much he cared. He looked at me as though he was in love and I was feeling the same way, he was constantly on my mind and I couldn't stand to be away from him. But I finally understood now why he'd done it.

"Long time no see, Angel." He teased, resting his arms on his knees.

"Back off." Carl growled, I squeezed his hand.

"Oh, this your boyfriend or something?" Dwight joked, I shook my head slightly.

"Friend." I said quietly, trying to play my part.

"Huh." He scoffed, the smile widening on his face. "Well, just wanted something pretty to look at for a little bit."

"Leave her alone!"

"Carl no." I exclaimed, grabbing his free hand midswing. "Please, we...we can't lose you too."

"She's right about that kid." Dwight said, I looked over into his eyes. "Your friend here was lucky she's so damn good looking or she'd be dead. Just like the other two pricks on the ground. So if I were you, I'd be holdin' my temper."

I looked up when I heard the sound of the RV pulling in, the engine shut off and we sat there quietly. Dwight winked at me before walking back to his spot with the other saviours. Finally, the door of the RV opened and Rick was shoved out, onto the ground. Negan grabbed him by the collar and partially drug him closer to us. He stopped a few feet away, and threw Rick to the ground, eyeing us all. Rick just looked pissed off, he didn't look scared in the slightest.

"Here we are. Let's me ask you something Rick, do you even know what that little trip was about?" Negan asked; Rick didn't respond, his eyes darting to all our faces. "Speak when you're spoken to."

"Okay, okay." Rick panted, holding onto his hatchet.

"That trip was about, the way you looked at me." Negan said, sounding exasperated. "I wanted to change that, I wanted you to understand. But you still looking at me the same, damn way. Like I shit in your scrambled eggs and that's not gonna work. So,"

Negan stopped, spun his bat and knelt down next to Rick.

"Do I give you another chance?"

Rick didn't say anything for a moment, he was breathing heavily and I could see the impatience on Negan's face.

"Yes...yes." Rick panted, nodding his head with his words.

"Okay, alright." Negan said with a smile, patting Rick on the back before standing up. "The grand prize game, what you do next will decide if your crap day becomes everyone's last, crap day. Or just another crap day. Put some guns to the back of their heads."

A few of the Saviours moved forward, cocking their guns and aiming them at the back of everyone's skulls. I looked at Carl and squeezed his hand, feeling nervous again. I didn't care if I died but my family, they were on a whole other level.

"Yeah, level with their noses so when you have to fire..." He said, making an explosion noise. "It'll be a real mess."

Negan paced around Rick for a moment before stopping and looking directly at Carl.

"Kid." He said, motioning for Carl to come closer. "Right here. Kid, now."

I looked at Carl, grasping his hand as he stood up.

"It's okay Ange." He whispered, slipping his hand out of mine.

He walked over to Negan, who whipped his belt off and said

"That your girlfriend back there?"

Carl shook his head as Negan wrapped his belt around his left arm, chuckling to himself.

"Come on, humor me kid." Negan laughed, tightening the belt around Carl's arm. "She's hot, how could you not?"

"She's like my sister." Carl grumbled, I felt my heart pounding in my chest as Negan laughed again.

"That hurt?" He asked.

"No." Carl said defiantly.

"It should, it's supposed to. Alright, get down on the ground kid, right next to daddy. Spread them wings. " He said as he flipped Carl's hat off.

Carl did as he was told, getting on all fours on the ground and Negan shoved him the rest of the way until he was lying flat. Negan looked up, the smile still on his face and said

"Simon, you got a pen?"

"Yeah." He said, rummaging through his pockets and tossing it to him.

Negan uncapped the pen and rolled up Carl's sleeve, saying

"Sorry kid. This is gonna be as cold a warlocks ball-sack. As if he was just dragging his balls across your forearm. There you go, gives a little leverage."

"Please, please don't." Rick whispered desperately. "Please don't."

"Me?" Negan questioned, laughing. "I ain't doing shit. Rick, I want you to take your axe, cut your son's left arm off right on that line."

I felt my heart drop down into my stomach, lowering my eyes. I felt tears start to well up around my eyes, this could kill Carl. We didn't have a doctor here, no medical supplies or anything to stop the bleeding, he would die. I couldn't hear anything that was being said, everything was going in and out. My head was spinning as I stared at the ground, I couldn't let this happen.

I moved my eyes up from the ground, looking in Dwight's direction. I know what he wanted for me, he wanted me to keep my mouth shut and possibly live through the rest of this nightmare. He didn't want me to draw attention to myself, Negan had already shown interest in me, it was in my best interests to keep quiet. But I didn't think I could, not any longer. He found my eyes, I knew what he was trying to say, he knew what I was thinking. I tried to apologize through my eyes, tried to let him know he much he meant to me, and hoped that he could forgive me.

Rick's scream grabbed my attention, I watched in horror as he picked up the hatchet. I felt like I was on auto-pilot, everything seemed to happen so fast. I scrambled to my feet, managing to avoid the gun pointed at the back of my head and ran in Carl's direction. I could see Rick raising the hatchet above his head, I dodged one of the Saviours that came at me and threw my body over Carl's.

"No!" I screamed. "Please, he's just a kid, please!"

I heard Negan sigh above me, my heart was pounding against my ribs as I held onto Carl, I could feel him shaking under me.

"How many times do I have to say this shit don't fly?" He groaned. "D."

I felt a familiar hand touch my arm, however rough it was, I knew what Dwight had to do, that didn't mean I wasn't going to fight back though.

"No! No!" I screamed as Dwight jerked me up.

His arm went around my throat from behind me, a gun to the side of my head. I felt his chest heaving against my back, I could feel his heart pounding along with my own.

"Alright, Rick-"

"Don't!" I yelled. "If you're going to take his arm then you have to take mine too!"

Negan turned from Rick to me, looking slightly amused at my selflessness. He strode forward, eyeing me curiously.

"You're his sister right? The prick that punched me. He's got balls, I like that. Must be a family thing huh?" He asked, smiling widely.

I struggled against Dwight's arm, staring Negan down with no fear.

"Shit, I can see the same thing in both of you." He mused. "D."

"Yes?" Dwight said; I could feel his heart speed up, I could feel the pulse from his arm going haywire.

"That guy, is the one that has beef with you yeah?" Negan said, pointing in Daryl's direction; I felt Dwight nod behind me. "That settles it then."

Negan moved away from us, bending down until he was level with Rick. What was he talking about?

"Now then, you got the look I wanted to see. So thanks to...what's her name D?"

"Angel." Dwight replied, I felt my body shudder when he said my name; it only sounded right coming from him.

"Huh, sounds right actually. Rick, thanks to your little guardian Angel over there, your boy is safe. Now, we'll be back for our first offering in one week. Half of everything, got it?"

"Yes, half of everything." Rick agreed, shaking in fear.

"Alright, boys, load him up." Negan instructed, pointing to Daryl.

Two men went to him, grabbing him on either side and halfway drug him to a truck as he struggled, screaming my name the whole way. Negan laughed a little, saying

"He's got guts, I like that. So, he's mine. But, I gotta have something to make him do what I want. Ain't that right, Rick?"

Rick mumbled a few things I couldn't understand, it sounded as though he was begging for something. Negan chuckled and strolled forward, staring straight into my eyes before looking over his shoulder at Rick.

"She, well, she belongs to D now." He said simply.

I heard Carl yell out angrily, everyone else was crying softly. I grabbed onto Dwight's arm around my throat, struggling against him. As fake as it was, it looked real to them and that was all that mattered at this point.

"Hush up darlin, no need to worry your pretty head. I'll take good care of you." Dwight purred next to my ear, I felt my knees going weak at the sound of his voice.

He was driving me crazy but I couldn't let on how much I wanted him, how much I actually cared about him, it wouldn't end well for either of us. I heard Daryl scream some profanities behind us before he groaned in pain. I refused to cry, I wasn't going to show any signs of weakness.

"Come on darlin'." Dwight ordered, making me walk backwards. "Let's go home."

"Can I stop walking backwards at least?" I mumbled after we'd walked a few feet away from Negan.

Dwight unwrapped his arm from my throat, grabbed my arm gently and led me across the clearing while Negan wrapped things up with Rick. He made sure to keep the gun to my head as we walked, trying to make it seem as real as possible. I caught Daryl's eye as he was shoved into the back of a truck, hoping that he'd be okay. Dwight pushed me up against a different truck, binding my hands for the effect before helping me into the passenger seat of another truck. He started the engine and sped off, looking over at me once we were out of earshot of the others.

"Damn it Angel."

"At least we're together now." I mumbled, trying to be positive.

I glanced over to see him smirk slightly, I felt a smile come to my lips when he grabbed my bound hands and kissed my palm.

"Yeah, at least I got my girl."


	9. Chapter Eight: The Sanctuary

Chapter Eight: The Sanctuary

* * *

I groaned quietly and rolled over on my side, slowly opening my eyes. I looked around the room, feeling groggy. This was nothing like my room back in Alexandria, where was I? I could hear some noise in the background that sounded like a television. I sat up in the bed, sliding out from the covers and placed my feet on the floor. I almost cursed when I noticed I wasn't wearing socks, the floor was cold. I brushed my fingers through my hair and pulled it to the side, hastily braiding it. I needed to make myself look more presentable, at least my hair. I stood up from the bed, walking across the floor and looked around, feeling faint.

The room was nice, there were all sorts of awesome things in here, things that were considered luxuries nowadays. I felt a smile come to my lips when I saw the records on a shelf, vintage things were always something I loved back before the world went to shit. I looked around as I moved further into the room, blinking when I saw all sorts of little wooden people on a table. I rubbed my arm, feeling nervous and tried to keep my balance. Where the hell was I and why did my body feel so weak?

"Hello?" I called out, nothing.

I went back to the bed and grabbed one of the throw blankets, wrapping it around myself. I was only dressed in a my long sleeved button up and panties afterall, I wasn't going exploring without some cover. Thankfully my button up fell halfway down my thighs, being short had perks. I headed across the room, around to the stairs. I took a slow breath and ascended slowly, opening the door at the top.

I peaked out the door, looking from side to side; a hallway. I swallowed nervously before taking a step into it, shutting the door behind me. I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself, heading down the left side of the hallway cautiously. I peaked around the corner, nothing; so far so good. I went around the corner, taking the right side this time, hoping I'd manage to find my way out. I walked for about ten more minutes, taking a few other turns and finally stopped when I heard voices. I peaked around the corner, my heart jumping in my chest when I saw Dwight. He was talking with Negan, well, Negan was doing most of the talking while Dwight occasionally nodded. I swallowed nervously and took a step back, trying to stay hidden.

I gasped when a hand went around my throat, shoving my body against the wall. I cried out in pain, trying to get my assailant to let go of me. I didn't know who this prick was but I wasn't going to die here. I clenched my fist and swung it into the man's temple, he loosened his grip on my throat long enough for me to slip away. I ran around the corner, the blanket had slipped off me when I'd been attacked but I didn't give two shits at this point. I looked back over my shoulder for my assailant, colliding with someone seconds later. Two arms went around my waist, holding my body in place while I regained my barrings.

"Hey there darlin."

I looked up into Dwight's blue eyes, a blush setting itself on my cheeks. I could feel how hot my face was, how hard my heart was pounding against my ribcage, how-

"Well well, looks like somebody's finally awake."

I snapped out of my daze, turning to see Negan standing before us. I felt rage flow through my veins, my smart ass mouth was about to give him a word or two.

"Where's my brother you prick?!" I yelled, Dwight turned us and shoved my back against a wall.

"Listen darlin. You best shut your damn mouth before you wind up in a cell." He advised, I glared darkly in Negan's direction.

I watched my assailant walk passed us, glancing in my direction and kneel to Negan before explaining how he'd come across me in the hallway, he even handed over my fallen blanket to him. I moved my gaze to Dwight when he touched my cheek, running a finger down my face to my neck.

"I didn't figure you'd venture out, especially with barely anything on."

I felt my cheeks heat up at his words, lowering my eyes. Needless to say, I was aroused by his words. I knew he was looking me up and down, I tried hard to calm myself and heard Negan say

"D, bring her in here. I wanna talk."

I looked up into his eyes, Dwight looked me up and down again before pulling me to follow him. We walked a few more feet down the hallway before entering a room that looked similar to the one I'd woken up in. He shut the door behind us, Negan grinned at me.

"Here, you'd like to cover up I assume." He said, offering the blanket to me.

I quickly grabbed it, wrapping it back around myself. It was my only form of protection at the point, I didn't want his eyes all over me. Dwight on the other hand, I wouldn't mind. I felt my cheeks heat up at the thought, lowering my eyes. I couldn't wait to be alone with him, find out what was going on.

"Sit down, make yourself comfortable." Negan said cheerfully, I shook my head.

"Where's my brother?" I repeated. "What have you done to him?"

"Woah...woah." Negan said, his grin widening. "He's alive, no need to worry your pretty little head."

"I want to see him, now." I said, feeling frustrated.

"Enough with the fuckin bossy shit." Negan groaned, still smiling. "Listen here sweetheart, you don't make the rules here. I fuckin do."

I raised my eyes to meet his, feeling all sorts of different emotions. I couldn't place them all, there were so many. Dwight placed his chin on my shoulder, I tried flinching back from him but his arm was around my waist before I could move. I didn't feel comfortable in this room and I didn't like that I had to keep acting like I didn't want Dwight near me.

"Now then. Before anything else, you answer to me. Other than me, you answer to D here. That's it, understand?" Negan asked, I didn't say anything. "Speak when you're spoken to."

"No, I don't answer to anyone. Fuck you." I swore, Negan chuckled.

"Fiesty, I love that. But, if you want Daryl to stay alive then you'll do whatever we say." Negan chuckled, I bit the inside of my jaw nervously. "Now, do I make myself fucking clear?"

"Yeah." I mumbled, I forced myself to cringe back when Dwight pressed his lips against my cheek.

"You're D's now, so be a good girl and do what he says. Or you can cut a piece off Daryl every time you don't listen." Negan said, his smile never faultering.

I bowed my head and nodded, I didn't want him to hurt my brother or worse, make me hurt him. I was here as leverage against Daryl, to make him do what they wanted. Negan didn't know what I was capable of, he thought I was just some pretty woman. I'd find a way to get all of us out of this place, I didn't know how long it would take but I was determined.

"Alright, I got shit to do. D will take care of ya." Negan said, waving us off.

Dwight grabbed my arm and led me out of the room, down the hallway. We went down a few more hallways in silence before he opened up a door, leading me down some stairs. He shut the door behind us and we descended the rest of the stairs, we were in the same room I'd woken up in. I turned to face him and his lips crashed down on mine.

I released the blanket and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing back with just as much force. I was stuck on my tiptoes, he was so much taller than I was so it was a little harder for me to reach him. I moved my lips harder against his, moaning into his mouth when I felt his hips knock against mine. He moved his arm around my waist, his free hand slipped under my shirt to touch my skin. He broke the kiss and moved to kiss my neck, his fingers running across my lower stomach. A sigh escaped me, I was feeling so lightheaded from his kisses and touches. I wanted more than he was giving me, I wanted us to be bonded physically. I moaned again when I felt him nibble on my neck, his hand moving further up my stomach.

"Dwight." I whispered, he pulled back from me.

"What is it?" He asked, a grin on his face.

I felt my cheeks heat up at the look in his eyes, I could see he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. I felt my blush darken and looked up at him through my lashes, not knowing how to say it without sounding stupid.

"I...um..."

"You hot and bothered or something?" He teased, running his fingers down my stomach.

"Kinda." I mumbled, feeling embarrassed.

"Darlin."

I looked up at him, feeling confused as to why he had stopped. He was just holding me now, not touching me or kissing on me. Had I done something wrong?

"As much as I want you, I need to get you checked out. " He said, I blinked curiously. "You've been out for about two days. You need food and our doctor to look at you."

I nodded a little and I giggled when he swooped me up into his arms like a princess, carrying me across the room and sitting me on the bed. I watched as he went across the room and grabbed a few things, coming back to my side.

"I got you some clothes, I kinda guessed your style wasn't girly shit so I tried to find stuff similar to what I've seen you wear." He said, I felt myself smile. "I've got a shower down here so you can get cleaned up, use whatever you like. I have to take you to the doctor before we can eat."

I nodded and took the clothes he'd brought me, standing up and following him to his bathroom. He quickly kissed my forehead and shut the door behind him as he left. My shower was soothing but after 3 minutes of standing I got dizzy and had to sit down for the remainder of it. I quickly dressed in the clothes Dwight had given me and left the bathroom, wanting to be by his side again. I smiled when I saw him sitting on the couch, watching something on the tv. Cable wasn't a thing anymore so it had to be a dvd or old fashioned cassette tape. I walked over to him and jumped into his lap, my legs straddling his hips. He raised an eyebrow at me, placing both his hands on my hips.

"Babe, don't get me hot and bothered again." He teased, I giggled quietly.

"Is that our saying now or something?" I joked, he leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

"Easier than saying it right out." He said, I smiled and nodded. "Huh, guess I better get you to our doctor now."

I pouted my lip before climbing off him, he gently took my arm and we walked up the steps into the hallway. I wanted to hold his hand as we walked but I knew it was safer this way, I didn't want anything to happen to him if anyone found out about us.

"Angel."

I looked over at Dwight as we walked, wondering what he was going to say.

"I'm sorry I've had to be so hateful and rough with you." He apologized, I smiled weakly.

"I understand why and that doesn't make me dislike you. Besides, you don't know if I like it rough." I joked, he smirked at that and guided me through a door.

"Ah, Dwight." A man greeted.

"This is Angel, she needs looked over."

"Well come in, sit up here dear." He said kindly, patting the chair.

Dwight released my arm and I walked over to the doctor, sitting up on the chair as instructed.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked, Dwight stepped closer.

"She slept for almost two days." He answered for me, the doctor nodded and took a look at my arm.

"The way your veins are looking, tells me it's more than likely just simple dehydration. Get some food and water in your system, you'll be fine." He said, Dwight nodded and took my hand.

"Let's go."

He pulled me out of the room before I could say a word, I was beginning to realize how ruthless this place was going to be.


	10. Chapter Nine: The First Run

Chapter Nine: The First Run

* * *

Dwight led me by the hand down the halls, I felt my cheeks burning over it. His hand felt so right around mine, our fingers entwined with each other's, it was like a perfect fit.

It was my third conscious day in The Sanctuary. I was learning more about this place the longer I was out of the safety of Dwight's room and I hated it here. People were treated so badly if they weren't part of The Saviours, if they were workers then they constantly got hell. I was always at Dwight's side, whether it was his arm casually thrown around my shoulders as we walked or if he was 'forcing' me by holding my arm. Dwight wasn't a bad guy at all, but he had to play his part well or things could end badly for the both of us.

Probably the worst part of this place was the kneeling when Negan passed by. Every single person in this place, was required to kneel to him or face punishment. I outright refused. So, every time we came across Negan, Dwight was pulling me to my knees next to him on the floor/ground until Negan passed. He was always carrying his bat around, Lucille, as he fondly called it. I wanted to bash it to pieces whenever I saw it hanging from his hand, all I managed to see was the blood of my family dripping off it.

Dwight had quickly realized I had developed PTSD from watching Glenn and Abraham die that night. I constantly woke up screaming in the middle of the night from flashbacks, the memories plagued my dreams. Dwight was more than understanding, he took care of me during my episodes and soothed me as best he could. He would stroke my hair and cuddle me until I'd fall back asleep. He even had went to the doctor to see about getting some type of medication to help me. Psychological medications were rare these days but the doctor had sworn to give him the medication whenever he received some, especially since Dwight had threatened him over it.

Dwight had told me that we'd be going on a run today and I needed to do whatever he said, as obediently as possible. It would be my first time actually around Negan with Dwight since he'd said I belonged to Dwight. I needed to appear broken to him so he wouldn't take me out of Dwight's charge. What worried me was that we'd be going to Alexandria and I didn't want my family to see me in that way, I had always been strong and I didn't want them scared for my well-being over an act.

Dwight had made sure to update me on everything that had happened during my days of unconsciousness. Everything meaning, my brother. I hadn't seen Daryl since the night we'd been taken away, I'd begged Dwight but he told me it was out of his hands. There was nothing he could do, he couldn't let me see Daryl unless Negan allowed it. I'd be seeing him today though, when we got to Alexandria but I doubted I'd be allowed to talk to him.

I sighed quietly at the thought and hung my head sadly, Dwight squeezed my hand lovingly. He was trying to distract me but I'd never been separated from Daryl this way, the longest I'd ever been away from him was a day. It really hurt me that I was forbidden to see him but I was going to do whatever I had to do to survive until we could escape. Dwight and I walked into one of the larger rooms, it was early so most of the Saviours were getting breakfast before it was time to leave for Alexandria. Dwight tugged on my hand, pulling me around and collecting food from workers. We head back to his room once we had everything we needed, and cuddled up on the couch as we ate our breakfast together.

"So, is this like our first date out of the house?" I teased, he chuckled.

"Was the burnt forest not good enough?" He joked, I smiled to myself and nuzzled close to him when he kissed my cheek. "Feeling better yet?"

"A little." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I'd love a drink and a smoke though, to calm my nerves."

"I got you babe."

Dwight hopped up from the couch and rummaged through a drawer on the other side of the room, coming back with 2 packs of cigarettes and a bottle of rum. Being in this place had some perks, I'd give it that. I hadn't had good alcohol like this since this mess with the walkers started, even finding smokes was hard. But the Sanctuary was always fully stocked. I giggled gleefully, taking the pack he handed me and grabbed the lighter. I placed a cigarette between my lips, lighting it and inhaled deeply. I sighed contently, breathing out the smoke.

"It's been too long." I sighed, he sat next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Glad I could make my girl smile...even though you just had one when we woke up. My last damn one." He said, taking a swig from the bottle.

I moved the cigarette to his lips, watching him take a hit and smiled to myself.

"You mean the last one in that pack, yeah?" I stated, my smile widening when he placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Yes darlin." He said, lighting his own cigarette. "The last one in that pack, you're lucky I always let you have the last one."

"I'm lucky to have an amazing man." I told him, smiling again when he poured some rum into a glass for me.

"I'd do fucking anything for you." He swore, handing it to me.

I took a drink, hiting my cigarette again. He was so different when he was with me, when he wasn't pretending to be something he wasn't. He was perfect, so down to earth and easy to talk to. I was glad he was mine and I was his. Maybe we'd get to spend the rest of our lives together, get away from this place together, have a baby. I blushed darkly at the thought, taking another drink. We hadn't even been intimate yet and I was already thinking about babies, call me a dreamer.

"We're going to have to head out soon and meet the others. " He said, I nodded a little.

"I'd rather stay here with you and cuddle all day." I admitted, he pressed his lips against mine in a quick kiss.

"Me too babe." He agreed, taking another hit off his cigarette. "But we have to. Drink as much as you want if it'll calm you down, just...don't puke or anythin."

I nodded, knocking back the last of my drink and refilled my glass. I handed the bottle to him, silently saying this was the last bit I'd drink until we got back. I all but chugged my drink and finished off my cigarette before standing up. I handed the pack over to Dwight, knowing it'd get taken from me by someone else if they saw me with it. He kissed the top of my head, stowing the pack away with the bottle. He pocketed his own pack before taking my hand, leading me out of the room.

We made it outside to the vehicles after a few minutes of walking, there were already a large amount of Saviours standing around. I looked up at Dwight and he nodded, moving his hand around my wrist. I took a slow breath and followed behind him as he approached the other Saviours.

"Long time no see D."

I recognized the man as Simon, Negan's right hand guy. Dwight head over in his direction, tugging me along behind him.

"Simon." Dwight acknowledged, nodding his head.

"Shit man, got her whipped yet?" He asked, I looked over to see Dwight smirk.

"She was feisty at first but she's a good girl, now anyway." He said, looking over his shoulder at me. "Darlin, now."

We'd practiced this for a few days, he had come up with certain phrases to say for me to do different things, to show my 'obedience' and 'loyalty' to him.

I quickly moved to his side under his outstretched arm, he kept his arm around my body as I stood up on my tiptoes, kissing his cheek. I lowered my eyes as Simon laughed heartily, slapping Dwight on the shoulder.

"Broken in 5 days, I believe that could be a record." He exclaimed, I glanced up to see Dwight smirk.

"Technically 3, she was out cold for 2 of the 5." He boasted, Simon laughed again.

"Definitely a record, that's some good shit."

I lowered my eyes, prefering not to listen to their conversation. I didn't like the way Dwight acted when he was around the other saviours, I knew it wasn't real but it still bothered me. I looked around for a minute, leaning my head against Dwight's shoulder when he snapped his fingers, his hand was resting on my hip as he finished his conversation with Simon.

"What a great damn morning!"

My head turned in the direction of the voice, Negan. Dwight moved his hand on my shoulder and shoved me down on my knees, getting on his own seconds later. Negan whistled a tune as he walked closer, I kept my eyes to the ground as he stopped in front of us.

"D, you and your girl riding with me?" Negan asked, Dwight got to his feet and pulled me to mine.

"Yeah." He agreed, his arm around my waist. "We'll come back on a bike though, she's got one back in Alexandria I'm going to bring back with me."

"Sounds good." Negan said, twirling his bat.

He eyed me curiously, I lowered my eyes and tried to think about something other than the situation I was in.

'Come on Angel, something happy. Something happy, something happy.'

"Alright, let's get fuckin moving." Negan instructed, heading away from us towards the vehicles.

"Come on." Dwight said, I looked up into his eyes and he smiled a little. "This'll be over soon."

I nodded and let him lead me, trying my hardest to keep a straight face. His arm was around my waist, his hand resting on my hip and his free hand was playing with a strand of my hair. He knew I loved my hair played with, for some reason it comforted me and put a smile on my face. It was almost impossible to keep a straight face, almost, until I saw my brother.

I felt my stomach drop when I saw the shape he was in. He was in a pair of worn sweats and a sweatshirt with an A spray painted on it, he didn't even have shoes. His eye was blacked and he looked like he'd received more than a couple beatings, I felt my heart breaking at the sight of him. How was it fair that I was getting everything I wanted while he was being treated like a slave? It wasn't right, this wasn't right.

"Daryl!" I screamed, his eyes raised to find mine.

I slipped from Dwight's arm and ran, trying to get to him. I had to talk to him, I had to save him, I was going to protect my brother even if it would cost my life. I was so close, I could almost touch him. An around went around my neck from behind me, my back slammed against a chest. Daryl started towards me, 2 saviours blocked his path.

"Get your hands off my sister you piece of shit!" Daryl screamed, I felt a kiss placed on the side of my head.

"Get off me!" I yelled, trying to fight against the arm around my neck.

"Woah, relax darlin."

I felt my body do just that at the sound of Dwight's voice in my ear, I turned my head and came face to face with him. He smirked a little, pressing his lips against my forehead. My head shot in Daryl's direction when I heard him groan in pain.

"Don't!" I cried, trying pull away from Dwight. "Stop!"

"Come on. This isn't our business." Dwight instructed, pulling me back.

"No! Daryl!"

They were hitting him, beating him. He'd been pushed to the ground, I couldn't get free from Dwight to help him. I felt tears roll down my cheeks as he hauled me away, I struggled against him the entire time but it was useless. He was stronger than I was and I knew he wouldn't let me go, he didn't want me to get hurt. He pushed me up against a truck once Daryl was out of sight, both of his hands on either side of me to keep me trapped.

"Damn it, don't do that shit again." He growled, I lowered my eyes at how frustrated he sounded with me.

"I...I wanted to help him." I murmured.

"Angel."

I looked up when I heard him say my name, his tone had softened and his eyes told me how sorry he was.

"Listen, the best thing you can do for him is what you're told. Don't try something like that again or it'll be worse. It'll get worse every time, there's always more." He told me, I smiled a little when he wiped my tears away.

"Okay...I'm sorry." I apologized, he planted a kiss on my forehead.

"Let's go, before anything else fuckin happens." He said.

I nodded and took the hand he offered me, moving away from the truck and following him further into the ocean of vehicles. I felt my heart sink when we stopped next to one of the supply trucks...this must've been Negan's truck. Supply trucks didn't have backseats, I'd be stuck sitting next to the bastard the whole trip. Dwight opened the passenger side door, I looked back at him nervously when I saw Negan behind the wheel.

"Dwight...please...don't make me." I whispered.

He glanced up over my head at Negan before moving his eyes to mine. I knew he didn't want to do this to me, I could tell by the way he looked at me but I also knew that he had an image to keep up. If he had to force me, he'd do just that to ensure that I would be safe from Negan's wrath.

"Get in." He ordered, I shook my head.

"Please." I croaked.

"Now Angel." He spat; I bowed my head and wrapped my arms around my body, trying to hold myself together.

"No." I whispered.

I gasped when Dwight grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. I felt tears slip down my cheeks and lowered my eyes, I didn't want him to see me broken like this. I hated this feeling, I hated knowing that there was nothing I could do to save my brother and worse. I hated knowing what my actions were going to cause Dwight to have to do. I flinched when he roughly grabbed my arm, shoving my body against the truck.

"Get, the fuck, in." He growled, I didn't look at him and climbed up into the truck.

I sat next to Negan and kept my head down as Dwight climbed into the truck next to me, shutting the door.

"Alright then, let's get this fuckin show on the road." Negan said enthusiastically, starting up the truck and driving out of the Sanctuary.

I lowered my eyes, trying to calm my nerves as we drove down the road. That alcohol wasn't helping, I needed another smoke but Dwight seemed like he was mad at me. I didn't want to upset him any further. I felt my heart skip when Dwight moved his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to lean against him. I leaned my head against him, laying my head on his chest. I ignored Negan's chuckle and snuggled against Dwight, finally calming down a little. I glanced up, Dwight found my eyes instantly.

"Yes darlin?"

"Um...can I have a smoke?" I asked quietly, I heard Negan chuckle again.

"What do I get?" Dwight asked teasingly, I scooted closer and pressed my lips against his cheek.

He smirked and pulled out his pack, handing a cigarette to me. I almost pouted when he held the lighter in front of my face, pulling it back every time I tried to take it.

"And what do I get for the lighter?" He asked, the same teasing tone.

I felt my cheeks heat up, blushing at the look he was giving me. He didn't seem upset with me anymore and that helped ease my conscious, but I was still nervous since Negan's eyes were on me. I ignored the feeling as best I could and leaned up, pressing my lips against his in a quick kiss, he handed me the lighter seconds later. I lit my smoke quickly and inhaled as deeply as I could manage after I handed the lighter back. I leaned against Dwight, feeling as though he was the only safety I had against Negan.

"That's the type of shit I like to see." Negan laughed, slapping his hand against the steering wheel. "Obedience."

I lowered my eyes, trying to ignore him as I hit my cigarette again. I didn't want to be here with him but at least there was plenty of space between us since Dwight was holding me.

"Now if only the other one was so easy to break." Negan chuckled, taking a turn.

"He is." Dwight commented, l turned my attention to the window. "Just have to threaten him with the right shit."

Negan laughed, it seemed as though he agreed with that. I felt tears roll down my cheeks and I quickly wiped them away, trying to hold it together. Alexandria wasn't too far, just a little longer and I'd be back home around my family, I just hoped they'd managed to be as strong as my brother.

"Oh yeah, we'll fuckin break him."


	11. Chapter Ten: Home Again

Chapter Ten: Home Again

* * *

"Dun dun dun dun!" Negan sang, swing Lucille before tapping the bat against the gate. "Little pig, little pig. Let, me, in."

I lowered my eyes when Dwight tightened his arm around my waist, I heard a voice that sounded like Spencer but kept my eyes to the ground. We were standing off to the side of the gate with the other Saviours, all the trucks were parked a short distance from the gate. Negan was the only one in view and apparently, that's how he wanted to keep it since he'd ordered us all to stand here.

"Well hello there." Negan greeted, I looked up to see Negan's smile slip off his face and his expression turn serious. "Do not make me have to ask."

"You said a week, you're early." A voice said gruffly, it sounded like Rick; the gate was pulled open seconds later.

"I missed ya." Negan said, chuckling quietly; turning when he heard a walker growling. "Oh Rick, come out here and watch this."

Rick came into view, standing right outside of the gate as Negan walked closer to the walker. He swung Lucille at the approaching walker, hitting it hard enough to kill it. It dropped to the ground and Negan chuckled again.

"Easy peesy lemon squeezy. Alright everybody, let's get started. Big day." Negan said enthusiastically, Rick turned to look at all of the Saviours standing around. "You see that? What I just did? That is some service. I mean, we almost get turned away at the gate. Who is that guy anyway? Do I get mad, do I throw a fit, do I bash some ginger's dome in? Nope. I just take care of one of these dead pricks that could've killed you all. Service."

Negan took a small bow and walked forward, heading inside the gate.

"Hold this." He said, shoving Lucille into Rick's hand.

I felt a tug on my arm and followed Dwight through the gate, keeping my head down as I walked. Once everyone had made it inside, I stood in front of him, his arm wrapped around my waist from behind me. I kept my eyes down, I couldn't look anyone in the face. Especially not Rick or Rosita, I hoped that Carl wouldn't have to see me like this. I wanted to make sure he was alright, he was my best friend but I secretly hoped I could get through this without running into him.

"Hot diggity dog!" Negan exclaimed, staring around Alexandria. "This is magnificent. An embarrassment of riches as they say. Yeah sir, I believe you're going to have plenty to offer up."

I looked up, watching Rick look at Daryl and take a few steps towards him.

"Daryl, hey-"

"Nope." Negan interupted, turning to look at Rick. "Nope. He's the help. You don't look at him, you don't talk to him and I don't make you chop anything off of him."

Rick just looked away, his eyes held so much terror. He looked back in the direction that all the Saviours were standing, his eyes met mine. I watched Negan look in the same direction, finding my face before turning back to him.

"Oh, well. You're looking at your little guardian Angel over there huh?" He said with a chuckle, pointing me out. "Well, not anymore anyway. See, she belongs to D right there. So, if you want to talk to her, you gotta ask him. D, you wanna say anything to Rick here about your Angel?"

Dwight placed his chin on my shoulder, I felt his grip on my waist tighten as he played with a stand of my hair.

"Fuck off." He said simply, planting a small kiss on my neck; I felt my body shudder.

"There we fucking go, so same for her. Don't talk to her, as the man said." Negan said, clapping his hands together.

He turned to Rosita, trying to get her to look at him. She kept her eyes staring straight, moving her head away from him when he leaned close to her.

"Same goes for everyone." He said in a sing song voice. "Right?"

Rosita walked away without a word after a minute, Negan turned to Rick with a grin.

"Wow, alot of suspense there. I don't think she even knew how much." He chortled. "Alright, let's get this show on the road. See what kind of goodies you got in the cupboard."

"I put aside half the supplies-"

"No, Rick." Negan interupted, turning to face him. "No. You don't decide what we take, I do. Alright."

Rick didn't say anything in response, he just bowed his head and kept his mouth shut.

"You heard the man. Move out!" One of the Saviours yelled, everyone began walking off.

Dwight pulled me by the waist towards Spencer and Rosita, I felt my heart drop down into my stomach. She looked miserable without Abraham, like part of her soul had been crushed. I couldn't begin to understand what she was going through, I wished with all my heart that this hadn't happened, especially not to her. I glanced at Spencer, I had never liked him because he seemed two faced.

"Rosita." Dwight teased, releasing his hold on me and walking closer to her. "Where you going with your friend here?"

"We were just-"

"You know what?" Dwight said, interupting Spencer. "I don't care."

He grabbed Rosita's handgun, placing it inside his bag. He held the bag out to Spencer, who reluctantly placed his handgun in the bag as well. He grinned and looked inside the car they were going to leave in, opening the driver's side door. I turned my attention to the ground, not really knowing what to do with myself.

"Angel." He called, I went to his side obediently. "Get those rifles out for me, would ya darlin?"

I avoided Rosita's eyes and moved closer to the car, bending over and grabbed both rifles for him.

"That's a damn nice view huh?" Dwight teased from behind me, I felt my cheeks heat up and pulled the rifles out of the car.

I handed both to him, keeping my head bent low to hide my blush as he put them both over his shoulder. He grabbed the canteen sitting on the dashboard, opening it and dumping the water on the ground. I glanced up through my hair, Rosita was clenching her fists.

"Don't take too long." Dwight teased, shoving the canteen into Rosita's chest.

He grabbed my arm and hauled me away from them, I tried to hold it together. I kept telling myself that we wouldn't be here that long, that everything would be over soon. It killed me seeing my family in this position, I wished with all my heart there was something I could do to help them.

"Angel!"

I didn't respond to Rosita's voice, knowing that I wasn't allowed to and Dwight turned us around to face her.

"No." He said, moving his hand from my arm to my waist. "You don't talk to her, Rosita."

"Fuck you, you son of a bitch." Rosita growled; I glanced up to see Spencer standing behind her, not seeming to know what to do with himself.

Dwight smirked and tightened his grip on my waist, I lowered my eyes again, I knew what was coming.

"She's mine and she does what I want, you're not gonna fuckin change that." He told her, I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Darlin, now."

I obediently stood up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek, leaning my head against his shoulder when he snapped his fingers. I glanced up to see Rosita's lips pressed into a thin line, she looked royally pissed off.

"Now fuckin excuse us, we've got shit to do." Dwight said, leading me away. "Show me where you stayed."

"It's this way." I said quietly, pointing in the direction of my house.

We walked in silence, passing other Saviours and Alexandrians as we walked. I pointed out my and Daryl's house, almost shooting off my mouth when I saw a couple of the Saviours about to open the front door.

"Hey!" Dwight hollered, releasing my waist.

He went up the stairs, I stood on the sidewalk. I didn't know what to do with myself and I didn't want to do anything wrong, I felt like the new kid at school.

"This is my girl's house, I get first dibs." He ordered, they nodded and backed off instantly. "I'll let you know when I'm done. Darlin, come on."

I walked up the stairs to his side and opened the front door, walking inside my former home. It still smelled the way it had when I'd left, the same cinnamon smell was in the air. Dwight came up behind me and shut the door, walking further into the house with me.

"So this is where you lived?" He asked; I smiled a little, knowing we could be ourselves now.

"Yeah, me and my brother." I agreed, heading up the stairs. "My room is this way."

Dwight followed behind me and I opened my bedroom door, smiling slightly. It was simple, I didn't have too much in here other than weapons and clothes but it was mine. Well...it used to be mine. I felt him place a hand on my shoulder and I smiled wider, trying to be happy that we were together.

"Go ahead and grab your stuff. The weapons have to go with me but you can bring whatever else you want. We'll even bring your mattress back, I'll get some people to carry it to the trucks for us and we can put it in our room back home." He said, I pressed my lips to his in a gentle kiss.

"Thank you babe." I whispered, he chuckled and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

"You're welcome, now get moving." He ordered playfully, I put my arms around his neck.

"Only if you give me another cigarette." I teased; he chuckled and handed one over, lighting it for me.

I placed the cigarette between my lips, inhaling as I head further into my room. I went about packing my clothes while Dwight gathered up all the weapons I had stored in my room, I was a little bit of a gun maniac so he probably had found at least 5 handguns and a couple shotguns hidden around my room. I went to my vent and grabbed the cover, pulling it up from the floor. I reached inside and pulled out the bag that held the wooden figures and letter he wrote me.

"What's that?" Dwight asked curiously, coming up behind me.

"The angel and girl you made me." I said, smiling a little.

He sat on the floor next to me and pulled me into his arms, I leaned my back against his chest as he snuggled close to me. I loved seeing this side of him, I wished he could be this way with me more.

"When you said you liked the soldier I was making, it made me feel amazing. Like I mattered, like I was important. So, I wanted to do something nice for you." He explained, kissing the side of my face. "I worked on the girl while you were sleeping, I tried to make it as close to the real thing as possible."

"I noticed it looked like me." I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Yeah, I'd never seen a woman so perfect until I met you." He said, running his fingers through my hair.

"Your letter is in here too." I told him, I looked back over my shoulder to see he'd tightened his lips into a thin line.

"Give it to me, it has to go." He said, holding out his hand. "If Negan finds it we're fucked, I have to burn it."

I nodded understanding and dug through the bag, handing him the letter. He lit his lighter under it, the paper going up in flames. He placed it on the floor while it burned, I watched the fire quietly as I finished off my cigarette. The last piece of our forbidden romance destroyed, it was kind of tragic in a way.

"Come on, let's finish up in here."

We stood up together after placing the vent cover back and I went about my room, packing the rest of my clothes and a few books that I loved. Dwight had left to tell a couple of the Saviours to get my mattress for him. Once I'd finished in my room, I went to the bathroom and gathered up all the medicine. I packed up all my feminine hygiene products, along with other necessities. I smiled when Dwight grabbed my bags, lugging them down the stairs. I followed behind him, noticing he wasn't alone when we got to the bottom.

"This is my girl's shit, put it with my new mattress. I want that couch as well, the recliner, the pool table in the other room..." Dwight was saying.

I lowered my eyes as I walked passed the group of Saviours, stepping out of my old home while Dwight claimed things for our room back home. I walked down the stairs and went around to the garage, pulling the door up. I smiled when I saw my bike was right where I'd left it, I walked into the garage and stood next to it. I grabbed my vest off the seat, sliding my arms through it. I hadn't felt right without it on, sure I had a full back tattoo of angel wings but the vest...it comforted me. Daryl had bought it for me when he'd got his, I felt safe when I wore it.

"Angel."

I looked over my shoulder at Dwight, he smiled a little and he walked over to my side, admiring my bike.

"She's a beauty." He commented.

"Thanks. I've had her since before...you know, the Negan stuff. My brother helped me build her." I mumbled the last part, playing with my angel necklace to try to hold myself together.

He placed a hand on my shoulder, I looked up into his eyes and he smiled a little. I could see in his eyes how sorry he was for the situation we were in, how much he wanted to be free.

"I'm sorry. Really." He said, kissing my cheek. "We need to head out though, it's almost time to go home."

I nodded in agreement and watched as he straddled the bike, I sat behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. The engine roared to life and he gave the bike some gas, driving it out of the garage. We drove down the road to the gate, parking the bike next to Negan's truck. We head back to the gate, standing with the other Saviours. Dwight had his arm wrapped securely around my waist, I lowered my eyes when I saw Carl staring straight at me. I'd hoped he wouldn't see me while we were here but he had now.

I glanced over and saw Rick walking out of one of the houses with Michone, she had a deer over her shoulders while Rick had a rifle in his hands.

"Look at this." Negan exclaimed.

"I thought she was scavenging. She was hunting." Rick said, handing the rifle to Negan. "This one never came inside."

"Look at this." Negan repeated, his grin widening. "This is something to build a relationship on. Good for you Rick. This is reading a room and you're getting the message. I said I before, Ima say it again. You sir, are special."

"Now that you know we can follow your rules..." Rick started.

"Yes?" Negan pressed.

"I'd like to ask if Daryl and Angel can stay." He finished.

"Not happening."

He paused for a second, looking deep in thought before continuing.

"You know what? I don't know. Maybe Daryl can plead his case. Maybe Daryl, can sway me."

I looked in my brother's direction, he had his head down, not looking like he was going to say anything. I knew he wouldn't, he wasn't going to leave me at The Sanctuary alone. He was afraid for me, only because he didn't know the truth about Dwight. But that didn't make his fear any less real. Even if Dwight wasn't protecting me, Negan would still be a threat to me.

"Daryl." Negan pressed, my brother didn't respond and Negan laughed, turning in our direction. "Well, you tried. Now Angel on the other hand, well. What D says, she doesn't answer for herself unless he's cool with that shit. You cool with that right now D?"

"Sure." Dwight said, I glanced over to see a smirk on his lips. "Got anything to say darlin?"

I didn't respond, lowering my head and playing with a strand of my hair. He grabbed my chin and tilted my head up, looking straight into my eyes.

"Do you got, anything to say?" He repeated, I attempted to shake my head but he was holding my chin so hard I couldn't. "Speak."

"No." I mumbled, his smirk widened and he released my chin.

"Good girl." He said, pressing his lips into my hair.

"Alright, that settles that. Now, what you gotta do is get over that tall wall of yours and try harder out there. Earn from me. Because we're coming back soon. And when we do you better have something interesting for us." Negan said. "Or Lucille, she's gonna have her way. I want you to hear that again. If you don't have something interesting for us, somebody's gonna die. And no more magic guns."

Rick bowed his head and didn't say anything in response, he looked completely broken. I'd never seen Rick this way, as if there was no hope left, it scared me.

"Alright, grab that deer. It's gettin late. Let's go home." Negan said, Michone dropped the deer and head inside the gate looking pissed off. "Man, I love a girl that buys me dinner and doesn't expect me to put out."

He walked away from Rick, chuckling softly to himself. I looked up at Dwight, he began leading me towards the gate. I didn't think I could leave without saying goodbye to at least Carl, I stopped.

"Yes darlin?" He questioned, I bit my lip before saying

"Can I say goodbye to Carl, please."

He tilted his head to the side, a grin stretching across his face.

"What do I get?"

I glanced over in Carl's direction, I saw the look on his face, the anger in his eye. I knew what he was thinking about but I pushed it to the back of my mind, turning back to Dwight. I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against his. He grabbed the back of my head and kissed me hard, moving his lips roughly against mine for a few seconds before breaking the kiss. I felt my heart pounding against my chest as he released his hold on my hair.

"You have 20 seconds, you speak to no one else." He said, I nodded. "Starting now."

I bolted from Dwight's side to Carl, running right into him. He wrapped his arms around me and I hugged him tightly, burying my face in the collar of his button up.

"I'll be okay, don't worry about me."

"Angel, he's abusing you." He said angrily, I shook my head against him.

"Stay safe, don't do anything stupid. Please." I begged, he nodded against me.

"I'll save you, don't worry." He swore.

"5...4..." Dwight counted.

"Goodbye Carl, take care of Judith." I said quickly, squeezing him one more time.

I quickly backed out of his arms and ran back to Dwight's side by the time he'd counted backwards to 1. He put his arms around me, planting a kiss on top of my head.

"Good girl." He murmured next to my ear. "Let's go home."

He led me out the gates to my bike, hopping on first. I got behind him and scooted up until I was pressed against him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He started up the bike and drove off down the road, I smiled slightly and leaned my head on his back. Being part of Negan's army didn't make me happy but Dwight did, what we had together made me happy. I knew he'd take care of me and one day...we'd be free.

Until then, I was so ready for a drink.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So there's Chapter Ten. We're getting closer to catching up with what happened during this season, a few different twists since my character is involved. I hope you all liked it and let me know what you thought! Please make sure to check out my other stories if you're a Naruto or Bleach fan!  
**


	12. Chapter Eleven: The Hilltop

Chapter Eleven: The Hilltop

* * *

"What do you mean Maggie's dead?"

My heart was pounding against my chest, it felt like an elephant was squeezing all the air from my lungs. I could barely breathe, there was no way this was real. This had to be some bullshit that Negan had said, he was trying to screw with my head.

"I...I'm sorry Ange."

"No, no."

I shook my head along with my words as I lit a cigarette and moved up from the bed, pacing the floor as I smoked. I was a nervous wreck and I seriously could feel an anxiety attack coming on, this had to be some kind of bad dream. Maggie was a fighter, there was no way that she died.

"Damn it Dwight!" I hollered, turning to face him. "You tell me what you know right fucking now!"

He bowed his head and moved a hand through his hair, looking upset that I had yelled at him. I'd never raised my voice at him before but I couldn't control myself, I was a wreck. I didn't want to accept that the woman that had been like an older sister to me, was dead. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks and wrapped my arms around myself, trying not to fall apart.

"Angel, Angel no."

He moved to my side, pulling me into his arms. I buried my face in his shirt, trying to hide my tears. I hated how much I'd been crying lately, it seemed like that was all I could do anymore, cry. And it felt as though the universe was making sure I had plenty to cry about, it felt like I was losing one family member after the other. When was it going to stop?

"Please, Angel. Don't, don't cry." He begged, moving his fingers through my hair.

"Then tell me what you know!" I screamed, crying harder.

"Okay, but you have to calm down first. Please." He said, I nodded in agreement and wiped at my eyes. "Here, let's sit down."

He guided me back to the bed and I sat down, lighting another cigarette. I grabbed the bottle of liquor, not caring what type it was and took a swig as he sat next to me.

"I don't know much darlin." He started, I inhaled deeply. "Negan said that he saw her grave, back when we were in Alexandria."

"He's full of shit." I spat, he shook his head and took my hand in his.

"Your brother saw it too, he was there when Negan told me" He said, I felt the tears roll down my cheeks and took another hit.

"Negan's lying, he's forcing Daryl to lie too." I said, trying to sound sure of myself.

"That priest was the one that showed them, Rick was there too." He said, sighing quietly. "Darlin-"

"I want to go to the hilltop." I interupted, standing up.

"The Hilltop." He repeated, sounding confused. "Why?"

"The doctor there was supposed to help her." I stated, going across the room to the dresser.

I grabbed some clothes and walked back to the bed, placing my cigarette on the ashtray. I slipped my arms through my button up, pulling my pants halfway on. I groaned quietly when Dwight roughly grabbed my hips, looking over my shoulder at him. I smiled a little when he placed a kiss next to my ear as he kneaded my hips, moaning softly when he pressed himself against me.

"Can't you just keep your clothes off a little fuckin longer, I love watching you walk around in barely anythin." He murmured, grinding against me.

I leaned my head back on his shoulder, sighing softly when he moved his hand up my inner thigh. He was trying to distract me and if had been any other time I would've melted into it. We hadn't been intimate yet and I wanted that more than anything, but this was too important. I wasn't going to let myself get distracted.

"Dwight, please."

"Anything you want darlin." He whispered next to my ear.

"I want to go to hilltop." I repeated, he stopped and turned me to face him.

"Why? Why do you want to see this damn doctor?" He pried, I lowered my eyes. "Don't, please don't keep secrets from me."

"I...I need to talk to him." I said, Dwight lifted my chin. "I need to know...if she even made it there. Please Dwight."

He sighed quietly and hung his head, I stood up on my tiptoes while sliding my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder. I wished he could understand what this meant to me, why I needed this.

"Okay, we'll go. I have to talk to Negan first, come up with a believable excuse."

I felt a smile come to my lips and hugged him tightly, giggling when he placed kisses all over my face. He was always going out of his way to make me happy, he treated me like a princess constantly and I couldn't be more thankful for him. I'd never been with a man that did anything and everything for me.

"Finish getting dressed darlin, I'll be back soon." He said, I nodded and pressed my lips against his in a quick kiss.

"Thank you." I whispered, he smiled against my lips.

"You're welcome."

Dwight wasn't gone half an hour before he came back, telling me that we could head out to the hilltop. As we walked, he told me that Negan was sending Simon and a group of Saviours to the Hilltop today as well. It only gave us a few hours to be ourselves together but it was enough, as long as we could get there first. We got on my bike together and left immediately, I was trying my hardest to hold it together throughout the drive there. It was going to take us bit but I didn't care, I needed to know the truth.

The idea of Maggie being gone should've comforted me, I knew I shouldn't have been feeling so selfish. I knew that I should've been happy that she was dead because that would mean she was with Glenn again, that they were together somewhere with their child. I couldn't imagine what she had felt, watching what happened to Glenn, it had put her on her deathbed. I knew that I should've just let it go, that I shouldn't have went looking for trouble but I was going to know the truth. If there was anything I could do to avenge Maggie's death, then I would make damn sure that it happened.

"There it is darlin!" Dwight exclaimed, looking back at me.

I pecked his lips quickly and looked over his shoulder, feeling relieved that I saw the Hilltop's gate at a distance. Dwight gave the bike more gas, speeding up the hill towards it. I glanced up the gate, my eyes fell on the men on watch. I recognized them as the ones that had been on watch the first time our group had come to hilltop, I mean, the first time my family had come here. I lowered my eyes, trying to force out the bad memories. We stopped, parking the bike a few yards from the gate. I moved off the bike, Dwight put his arm around me as we walked up the hill together.

"Open up the damn gate." Dwight ordered, I looked up at the watchmen.

"Who are you?"

"I'm D." Dwight said with a grin. "Now, do I have to tell Negan you aren't following fuckin orders?"

I heard one of the guards mumble something that sounded like 'oh shit' and the gate slowly swung open. We walked in together and I looked around, feeling confused as to why it was a little bit of a wreck. People were lugging around walker bodies, throwing them in a fire pit. I glanced over at Dwight to see him tighten his lips into a thin line, the gates were pushed closed behind us.

"What happened here?" I whispered to myself, Dwight placed a kiss on the side of my head.

"Negan's orders happened." He said simply; I looked up at him, feeling all the more confused. "He said something to me before we left, about a trade between here and Alexandria."

"Fuck." I swore, his eyes told me that he wanted an explanation. "We, we made a deal with Gregory. That we'd get rid of Negan and the Saviours."

"Damn it Ange." Dwight cursed.

"We needed food." I said quickly, trying to explain. "Our people were starving and we didn't know how many there were, I hoped that killing him would let you be free. I wanted to save you, so we could be together."

"Darlin."

I looked up at Dwight, smiling when he leaned down to me and pressed his lips against mine in a gentle kiss. He broke the kiss, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Thank you, for wanting to help me. You're fuckin crazy." He chortled, I shrugged.

"You were a damsel in distress." I teased, he snorted.

"Yeah, yeah." He played, I rolled my eyes.

"So what'd he do to hilltop then?" I asked. "Walkers?"

"He made a statement." He told me. "He made sure they would know not to fuck with him like that again."

"Its our fault this happened, we told them we'd get rid of the problem if they gave us food." I mumbled.

"You didn't make them take the deal." He reminded me, leading me further into hilltop. "Let's get this shit started."

"Hold up."

We stopped and turned around, facing one of the gate guards. Dwight placed his arm around my shoulders, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Can I...help you with anything?" He asked, sounding nervous.

"Sure can." Dwight said easily. "Better start making the way for the rest of my group. They'll be here soon so make things easier on yourself and have some good shit set out for them."

"Yeah...okay...sure."

"Which one of these trailers is Doctor Carson's?" I asked kindly, he looked curiously at me.

"Oh...right. It's that one." He said, pointing it out.

"Thanks buddy." Dwight teased, leading me in the direction of the trailer. "Well well, if it isn't Gregory?"

"Guilty as charged."

I looked away from the trailer, frowning when I saw Gregory standing a few feet from us. This guy, he was such a prick. Dwight had the same look of distaste on his face, I had a feeling he felt the same way I did.

"Hello, Rachel right?" He guessed, my eye twitched.

"Angel." I corrected, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Go do something until the other Saviours get here." Dwight ordered, sounding impatient. "We've got shit to do."

We walked away from him without another word, the look on his face was shocked, he hadn't been expecting that. We walked up the stairs to doctor's trailer, I took a slow breath as Dwight knocked on the door. We waited for a moment before the door opened, Doctor Carson looking us over curiously.

"Can I help you?" He asked, Dwight nodded.

"I'm D, this is Angel. Angel's friends with Maggie." He told him.

"Oh, Angel. I remember you, come in. Let's talk." He said, opening the door wider.

We walked inside, Dwight shut the door behind us. I faced Doctor Carson, trying to hold in my rage to figure out what had happened. He motioned for us to take a seat, I shook my head and took a shaky breath.

"Did...did she make it here?" I asked, the doctor nodded.

"Yes, yes she did."

"What...what was wrong with her?" I asked, trying to hold it together.

"She had Placental Abruption." He said, putting a hand on the back of his head. "It's a seperation of the placenta from the uteral wall. It usually doesn't happen this early, it's not supposed to anyway. But-"

"You son of a bitch!" I yelled.

I took a few steps forward and punched him in the face, he fell to the floor I'd hit him so hard. I kicked him as hard as I could manage, he groaned quietly in pain.

"How could you not save her you piece of shit!" I raged, kicking him over and over.

"Darlin no."

Dwight grabbed hold of me, pulling me away from the doctor. I fought against him, trying to do what I'd come here to do.

"She was pregnant and you let them die!" I yelled, struggling harder. "Let go of me, he has to pay!"

"Angel."

I stopped struggling and looked over my shoulder, Jesus? I wasn't surprised to see him, he lived at the hilltop after all. But he wasn't going to stop me, I was going to beat this man to death.

"Oh god, what happened?" He asked, moving to check on the Doctor.

"He let Maggie die and he deserves what he has coming to him!" I yelled, Jesus sighed and looked at me after helping Carson to sit down.

"Come on, I need to show you something." He said, beckoning me to follow him. "Before we go, he needs to stay here."

I looked over my shoulder at Dwight, he had released his hold on me and was glaring at Jesus.

"You're not going any fucking where with my girl." He spat, I turned and placed my hand on his cheek.

"Babe, it's fine. Jesus won't do anything to me." I stated, he leaned his forehead against mine.

"I can't let you go without me. If the other Saviours show up and see you alone, our cover is blown." He told me, I glanced over to see Jesus move to stand next to us.

"You care for her." He guessed, Dwight smiled at me and looked at Jesus.

"Damn right I do." He replied, Jesus nodded and smiled.

"Then I guess you're on our side. Come on, both of you."

We followed Jesus out of the trailer after he said a few words to the doctor, walking over to another. Jesus looked back at me and opened the door, I walked the rest of the way up the stairs and entered the trailer. I felt my heart stop in my chest, tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Oh my god."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thank you for reading, I hope you all liked it. Please check out my other work and subscribe! Thanks for reading :)  
**


	13. Chapter Twelve: The Graves

Chapter Twelve: The Graves

* * *

I ran further into the trailer, wrapping my arms around Maggie. She laughed quietly and hugged me back, I cried softly into her shoulder and squeezed her once. She was pale, looking like she had barely managed to fight through what had happened. I'd have to apologize to the good doctor and thank him for saving her life. I turned to Sasha, hugging her just as tightly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, sounding shocked; I broke the hug, facing them both.

"I had to know." I said, smiling widely at the both of them. "Negan said you were dead. Your grave in Alexandria."

"Rick." Maggie guessed, shaking her head with a smile.

"I was so scared, I almost killed Doctor Carson over it." I admitted, feeling stupid.

"He saved me." Maggie said, smoothing my hair. "He saved both of us."

"The baby's okay?" I asked, feeling overjoyed; Maggie nodded, a weak smile on her lips. "I'm so happy, I was worried about you. Both of you, all of you."

"But...how are you here?" Sasha asked, I looked back at the door with a smile.

"Babe, come on."

Dwight stepped into the doorway, Sasha raised her gun instantly. She recognized him as one of Negan's men but she didn't know the truth, I'd have to update them on what had happened. But first, I wasn't going to let her shoot my boyfriend.

"No!" I yelled, getting in between them. "He brought me here."

"Why?" Sasha pressed, her gun still raised.

"Because he cares about her." Jesus stated, shutting the door behind him.

Sasha lowered her gun slightly, looking confused. I went to Dwight, hugging him tightly. He placed a kiss on my head and I turned back to them, smiling. Maggie was smiling a little, looking happy that I'd finally found someone. Sasha was still looking at him distrustfully, she was just that way though. It took her a bit to warm up to people, especially people that weren't part of our family.

"He's on our side." Maggie guessed, I nodded.

"He's been protecting me, Negan doesn't know the truth." I said, Dwight held me close to him. "He's an amazing actor."

"We saw him take you away." Sasha stated, holstering her gun. "We thought the worst."

"Even though she's safe with me, everything is still pretty bad." Dwight said, walking further into the room with me. "I'm Dwight by the way or D. Whichever."

"Maggie, this is Sasha." Maggie said, taking a seat.

We all sat around the table, I sat in Dwight's lap so Jesus could sit down with us and Dwight began to explain everything.

"I met Angel and Daryl in a forest a couple months back. At the time, I was running from Negan, trying to escape. I had to go back though but not a day went by that she didn't cross my mind." He said, I kissed his cheek lovingly. "When we found out about Alexandria, Negan ordered us to take it, especially since your people took down alot of his guys."

"We had no choice." Maggie stated.

"I know that." Dwight said, placing his chin on my shoulder. "Look, I'm not proud of the shit I've done. It's always been for her, it was always to keep her safe. She's fuckin everything to me."

"So you're just faking it." Sasha confirmed, Dwight nodded.

"There's no way out of this." He said; I sighed a little, having heard this speech before. "He owns everything and if it's not his yet, it will be. I don't like having to do this shit. I have to treat her like a slave around the Saviours and Negan, she deserves better. But until he thinks she'll be loyal, I have to do it to keep her safe."

"So why don't you just leave?" Sasha asked, I bowed my head.

"He already tried that, it won't work." I said, feeling sad.

"So the only option we have is fighting." Maggie said with a sigh.

"We can't." I said, shaking my head. "He was just in Alexandria, Rick...Rick's scared. You should've seen it, he took everyone's mattresses and burned them just because he could. And he took all the guns."

"What?" Sasha pressed.

"What do you mean all the guns?" Maggie asked.

"Exactly that." Dwight replied. "Alexandria has no more guns."

"He almost killed Olivia over two handguns that were missing from the armory, Rick managed to find them though." I said, playing with a strand of my hair.

"Why would he take all the guns?" Sasha asked, sounding confused.

"He doesn't want us to fight back." Maggie guessed, Dwight nodded.

"He has too many people loyal to him, you wouldn't win." Dwight told them, I leaned against him. "For now, you just need to lay low."

"We didn't see you." I said. "Either of you. And you didn't see us. It's the only way to keep you safe."

Maggie nodded a little, Sasha had a reluctant look on her face. I knew that Sasha wouldn't want to follow this plan but it was the only one we had at this point, she'd have to bite the bullet this time.

"How's your brother?" Maggie asked sincerely, I lowered my eyes sadly.

"It's bad." I said quietly, Dwight squeezed me comfortingly. "They're awful to him, I haven't seen him since the run to Alexandria. He's been beaten and abused so much, and it's all my fault. Negan's trying to use me against him."

"You can't blame yourself." Jesus said, I wiped at the tears running down my cheeks.

"If I wasn't there-"

"Then Negan would've taken you eventually, because you're leverage against your brother." Dwight said; I nodded, knowing he was right.

"I'm sorry about Glenn." I whispered, looking up into Maggie's eyes.

She nodded a little, I knew she didn't blame Daryl for what happened but I wanted her to know I cared. Glenn was special to everyone, a leader just like Rick and my brother. I turned to Sasha, knowing that Abraham had wanted to start a future with her, and she nodded knowingly.

"I buried them." Jesus said, standing up. "If you'd like to see them."

"Please." I whispered, standing up as well.

"I'll be back, wait here." Jesus said to Maggie and Sasha.

Dwight stood up, taking my hand when I went to follow Jesus. I turned to him, he ran his fingers through my hair

"We're going to have to go soon darlin." Dwight told me, I nodded a little. "I'll let you say goodbye."

"Wait."

I looked at Maggie, wondering what she was thinking. She was staring Dwight down, she reminded me of Daryl with the look on her face. She had that protective older sibling look in her eyes, I remembered her looking that way when it came to Beth.

"Dwight, take care of her. Don't let anything happen to her." She said, he nodded a little. "Or I'll kill you."

"I'd die before something happens to her." He swore, I smiled and stood up on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his in a short kiss.

"That's not gonna happen, if we're going out then we're going out together." I murmured, he smiled at that and pecked my lips again.

"I'll be outside." He said, following Jesus out of the trailer.

I turned to Maggie, almost crying again when she hugged me. I would miss her and Sasha, I didn't like the idea of being seperated from my family again but I knew it was for the best. I knew that I had to keep them safe and I would do whatever I had to do to make that happen.

"Stay safe Angel." Maggie asked of me, I nodded against her shoulder.

"I will, you rest up and get healthy. Get that baby growing." I teased, she laughed quietly.

I pulled back from her and moved to hug Sasha, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"Be careful, I don't trust that guy." She said, I rolled my eyes.

"You don't trust anyone." I joked, she chuckled and shrugged.

"I know but better safe than sorry. Stay safe out there kid." She ordered, I nodded.

I moved out of the hug and opened the door, exiting the trailer. I smiled when I saw the men waiting on me, walking down the steps to Dwight's side. He took my hand and we followed behind Jesus.

"Look you need to know that the Saviours will be here today, probably soon." Dwight was saying, I squeezed his hand.

"They're pissed huh?" Jesus guessed, Dwight nodded.

"Yeah."

"You can't let them know Maggie's here or Sasha." I told him. "Please, keep them safe."

"Doctor Carson wants Maggie here for the remainder of her pregnancy." Jesus said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "In case something like that happens again."

"Then they have to stay." I said.

"Gregory...he's being difficult. He wants them gone." Jesus admitted, I looked to Dwight for help.

He hung his head, I looked at him pleadingly. If there was something we could do to help Maggie and the baby, then I intended on making it happen. Even if that meant having to do it myself.

"Then I'll make him agree to it." I said, feeling determined.

"No offense darlin, you aren't fuckin intimidating." Dwight laughed, I wrinkled my nose. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it if Jesus needs the muscle."

I smiled when he pressed his lips into my hair, feeling overjoyed that I could call this perfect man my own. Before the shit hit the fan, I'd never thought that I'd settle down, that I'd want to. Hell, I'd just been drifting around with my brothers when the news had spread about the walkers. I hadn't known anything other than one night stands for most of of my life, I was always being dragged around to somewhere new before anything serious could happen with someone. Here I was though, planning on spending the rest of my living days with Dwight and starting our own family. Things sure had done a 180 so to speak.

"Here we are."

I looked around Jesus, smiling sadly when I saw the two graves behind him. I released Dwight's hand and slowly walked forward towards them, Jesus moved out of my way respectfully. I stopped once I was next to the graves, bowing my head. I knew what they would want, they wouldn't want me crying over them. Especially not Abraham, I could hear the bastard in my head telling me to get my panties out of my ass and soldier up. I smiled a little at the thought, silently giving them my condolences, promising that I wouldn't let this happen to anyone else in our family.

"I'll put flowers down for them as often as I can for you." Jesus offered, I nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you." I murmured, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "They were great people, they didn't deserve to die so young. The world could've used them here a little longer."

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take Sasha and Maggie into the house. Attempt to get Gregory to reconsider." Jesus told me.

"If you need some intimidation at any point just holler at me." Dwight said, placing a hand on my shoulder from behind me.

I smiled a little, forcing myself not to cry. I wanted to, more than anything but I needed to honor their memory with courage instead of sadness. I knew that's what they would want me to do and I would do it to the best of my ability. I was going to keep Maggie and the baby safe for Glenn, I wasn't going to let anything happen to either of them.

"Are you okay Angel?" Dwight asked, swinging an arm around my shoulders.

"As okay as I can be." I admitted, leaning against him. "If it weren't for hearing Abraham in my head, I'd probably be crying right now."

"And what did he say to you?" He pressed, I giggled.

"Get your panties out of your ass and soldier up kid." I said, repeating the thought; I heard him chuckle next to me.

"You weren't kidding about the sayings." He joked, I smiled wider.

"Never, he was one creative son of a bitch. That's for damn sure."

"Then we'll keep him alive that way." He offered, I looked at him curiously. "Everyday, we'll come up with some damn crude shit to say in his honor."

I giggled quietly, nodding in agreement. That seemed like a good way to honor his memory. I'd keep Maggie safe for Glenn and make crude sayings for Abraham, it was perfect.

"So do we start today then?" I teased, he smiled.

"Give me something good then." He pressed, I bit my lip in thought.

"How's cunt waffle sound?" I joked, he laughed heartily.

"Sounds perfect darlin."

He placed a kiss on my head and I took one last look at the graves, silently swearing to avenge my fallen family. We walked away after Dwight told me that we should head back to the Sanctuary, that we'd been here long enough. We head back in the direction of the gate, I swallowed when I saw it was already open, a large amount of Saviours heading across Hilltop. I looked at Dwight, feeling nervous that they were walking towards the house, he tightened his arm around my shoulders.

"Well shit, what the hell are you doing here D?" Simon exclaimed, stopping in our path.

"Eh, had some shit to take care." Dwight said easily, I leaned my head against him when he snapped his fingers.

"Well look who's out and about." Simon teased, eyeing me curiously. "You being good for D?"

I gave him a blank stare, not knowing if he actually wanted a response from me or if he just enjoyed hearing himself talk. He seemed like that type that enjoyed the sound of his own damn voice.

"Angel, speak when you're spoken to." Dwight ordered, sounding impatient.

"Yes sir." I said simply, lowering my eyes.

"I made sure to let that pussy Gregory know your lot were on their way." Dwight told him. "He should have something good set aside for Negan."

"Thanks man, sure appreciate it." Simon replied. "He will if he wants to keep his life."

"Negan sent you to kill him?" Dwight pressed, I glanced up to see Simon grin.

"Only if he doesn't cooperate." He said, sounding bored. "Anyway, I'll let you get out of here. You must have shit to do."

"Yeah, we were just heading out." Dwight said.

"Alright, see ya."

Simon walked off towards the house with the group of Saviours, Dwight led me towards the gate. Once we had exited, I looked over at him concerned. What if they found Maggie and Sasha? I was sure they'd kill them. Dwight hadn't even been able to talk to Gregory and force him to let them stay, I was scared for them.

"Don't worry darlin, I'm sure Jesus took care of everything." He said once we were out of earshot.

"I hope you're right." I whispered, hopping on the back of the bike behind him.

He started up the engine and gave the bike some gas, driving down the hill. I looked over in the trees as we drove away, almost swearing I saw the outline of a sheriff's hat hidden behind the leaves.

'Carl?'

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. I've been more focused on my Naruto story than Doomed so I apologize for the delay. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!  
**


	14. Chapter Thirteen A Peak at the Past

Chapter Thirteen: A Peak at the Past

* * *

"Angel!"

I whipped my head around, my hair flowing all around me and found Daryl's face in the crowd. He was screaming my name from the other side of the highway, beckoning me to follow him. I moved, trying to make it to him as I squeezed through the crowds of people, weaving in and out of the cars on the highway. We had to get off the grid, the military was killing people here and I definitely wasn't ready to die. A hand grabbed my arm from behind me, I quickly turned around.

"I gotcha little sister."

Merle, he'd found me.

"Come on."

I hopped on his back, wrapping my arms around his neck as he grabbed my thighs to support me. He pushed our way through the crowd, shoving people out of the path. It was a panicked situation, we'd just witnessed what appeared to be a bombing in Atlanta a few days prior and people were losing their shit. We were all staying together though, our family wasn't going to be seperated from each other. We'd spent enough time being seperated most of our lives and if the end of the world was coming, we were going to spend it together.

We made it to Daryl after what seemed like ages, Merle dropped me on my feet and we quickly jumped in his truck. Merle put it in drive and swerved off the highway, heading towards the mountains. I closed my eyes and leaned against Daryl, who held me close to him, I didn't want to admit it but I was scared. Dixons weren't supposed to be afraid of anything but in this moment, I feared death.

"Merle, head up towards that abandoned rock quarry." Daryl suggested, I opened my eyes to see Merle nod.

"Good idea little brother, we'll get off the grid." He said.

"Don't you worry Angel, I won't let nothin happen to ya." Daryl swore, I smiled at that.

"Hell no we won't." Merle agreed.

"Fuck, I'm not scared." I lied, trying to sound confident. "I'm a Dixon damnit."

"Damn right." Daryl agreed, hugging me around the shoulders.

We drove through the mountains, heading in the direction of the abandoned rock quarry. The sun was beginning to set, night would be on us soon so we would need to make a camp once we made it. I gratefully took the cigarette Daryl offered me, hitting it and moved my eyes from the window when Merle said

"Well well, looks like we're not the only ones that had this idea."

Daryl and I looked to the front of the truck, I was surprised to see a few cars and an RV parked close to the quarry. There were even people, a decent amount of them.

"Go on and park, right there." Daryl said, pointing to an empty spot by a Cherokee; I handed the cigarette back to him.

Merle did as instructed, parking the truck and a few people began walking towards our vehicle. One of the men was older, looking as if he could be a grandfather. The other man looked like he could be in his late 30s or early 40s, he walked like a cop. The last person was a woman, she had brown hair and looked around the same age as the younger man. I hopped out of the truck after Daryl, standing behind him as Merle came around to us. I glanced around Daryl, trying to start up my sweet young girl act that I was so used to doing.

"Hi there." The younger man greeted, putting a rifle over his shoulder. "Shane Walsh."

"Merle Dixon." Merle said gruffly. "My brother Daryl and baby sister Angel."

"Where you coming from?" Shane asked, sounding interested.

"The highway." Merle replied; I tilted my head to the side, trying to look sweet. "People are going fuckin crazy, miltary started shootin people. Had to get out of there."

"Well you're more than welcome to stay here." The older man said. "I'm Dale."

"Lori." The woman said, eyeing me. "You wanna come get something to eat honey, you look hungry."

"Thank you." I said quietly. "But I..."

I stopped and looked up at Daryl, he gently patted me on the back.

"It's okay Ange, you go on. We'll be right there. " He promised, I nodded hesitantly and followed Lori over to the fire.

"Everyone, this is Angel." Lori said, intruducing me. "That's Carol and her daughter Sophia, Andrea and her sister Amy, Jacque, Jim, T-dog, Glenn, and my son Carl."

"Hi." I said softly, raising my hand halfheartedly.

"You're name is really cool." Sophia said sweetly, I smiled a little.

"Thanks." I replied, taking a seat next to Glenn.

"Here we have some, um, soup." Glenn said nervously, offering a bowl to me. "Shane caught some rabbits earlier, we just haven't got around to them yet."

"Here, I'll do it." I offered. "I can wait to eat."

I moved my bag off my back, pulling out my hunting knife and went about skinning one of the rabbits. This was an everyday thing for me, I'd been hunting for my food for as long as I could remember. The little boy Carl was looking around his mother, fascinated by the process. I smiled a little and conversed with them while I worked, they seemed like decent enough people. Carl and Sophia were sweet kids, asking if I could teach them about hunting and cooking their own findings. They all seemed surprised that I was a hunter, I guess I just didn't look the part. Daryl had taught me all about it from the time I could walk so I was very well versed when it came to hunting and everything about the woods.

"Well well baby sister, already gettin started huh?" Merle teased, I rolled my eyes at his condicinding tone.

"I'm actually finished with the skinning." I stated, passing one of the rabbits to Daryl. "Get that finished for me bro."

"You got it Ange." He said, sitting next to me.

Merle took a seat as well, the man known as Shane introduced them to the rest of the group. Dale took a bowl of soup and head up the ladder of the RV, a rifle strapped to his back. We all talked for a while, getting to know each other while Daryl cooked up the rabbits. Merle left the circle in the middle of conversation, saying something about setting up the tents. I felt a little awkward, I wasn't very well when it came to mingling but my brothers...they didn't really get along with other people too well. Well...at least Daryl was better at it than Merle. I mostly talked to Glenn, he was one of the easiest since we seemed to be close to the same age, I was more comfortable making small talk with men anyway so I avoided unnecessary conversation with the women.

"This is really good." Carl said, devouring his helping of rabbit.

"You got that right little man." Shane agreed, I played with a strand of my hair.

I looked over at Daryl and placed my fingers to my lips, he nodded a little and handed a cigarette to me. I grabbed the extra helping of rabbit that was set aside for Merle, I quickly lit my smoke and stepped outside of the fire, not wanting the kids to be exposed to the secondhand smoke.

"We're gonna turn in for the night, see ya in the mornin." Daryl said, following behind me.

We head inside the tent Merle was residing in after saying goodnight to everyone, I handed him a helping of the rabbit Daryl had cooked up.

"Thanks baby sister." He said, popping a couple of pills.

I inhaled the smoke from my cigarette, choosing not to comment on his drug habits and Daryl sat down, focusing on making arrows for his crossbow. I looked over my own arrow supply, almost groaning at how few I'd packed. I'd have to make more as well but I'd wait until morning, I was exhausted. I wasn't much of a crossbow girl, just regular bow, less noise for hunting.

"Keep your eyes open tomorrow, see what kinda shit they have." Merle said, I looked at him curiously as I hit my cigarette.

"Why?" I asked, feeling confused.

"We'll wait until the right moment to rob these assholes." He said, I lowered my cigarette from my lips.

"These people have been kind to us." I said, not wanting to go along with that. "They welcomed us into their camp and fed us, that's not cool Merle."

"We're doin it." He snapped; I looked to Daryl for help, he avoided my eyes.

"Whatever bro." He mumbled, I scoffed angrily.

"You're a dick." I spat, grabbing my stuff.

"Where you think you're goin?" Merle asked, sounding pissed off; I pursed my lips angrily.

"My tent. I'm a fuckin girl asshole." I growled, exiting the tent.

"Just remember who saved your ass out there little sister. You need me."

"I've never needed you." I mumbled to myself, going inside my own tent.

I tossed my stuff to the ground angrily and prepared my sleeping bag for the night. I organized the rest of my supplies, making sure that I'd be ready in the morning to work on making arrows and turned off the lantern. I climbed inside my bag, ready to retire for the night.

"Angel."

I sat up and turned my lantern back on, that had sounded like Glenn's voice. I moved out of my sleeping bag and unzipped my tent, peaking my head out.

"Glenn?"

I didn't see him, where was he? I stepped out of the tent, looking around for him. It was dark, I guessed the others had put out the fire. I could barely make out anything in the dark, it had sounded like his voice had been right outside my tent, where could he have went so fast?

"Glenn?" I called out, the area lit up.

"Buddy, you still there?"

'No, this can't be happening.'

"Glenn!" I yelled, watching the bat swing down on his head.

I couldn't move, it was as if my feet were glued to the ground. I was crying hysterically as he moved up to his knees, raising his head from the ground. His eye...the blood...he was crawling towards me.

"No!" I screamed, I was shoved to my knees.

"Angel."

I turned my head, my eyes finding Abraham's face. I gasped quietly, the tears were rolling down my cheeks as I gasped for air. I felt as though my lungs were going to collapse, my head was spinning.

"No!"

The bat swung down on Abraham's head, he moved his head up, his eyes finding mine. He crawled closer to me, I looked back in Glenn's direction through my tears, why were

they doing this? What did they want from me?

"Angel."

"Stop! Get away from me!" I cried, squeezing my eyes shut.

They were too close to me, there was so much blood and gore. I covered my face, collapsing on my side. I cried harder, wrapping an arm around myself, I was going to fall apart any second now. I couldn't look, not anymore.

"Angel!"

I gasped and opened my eyes.

'Dwight?'

He was hovering over me, a concerned look in his eyes. I looked from side to side, feeling disoriented. I was in Dwight's room at the Sanctuary, what had...

'A dream...it was all just a dream.'

"Darlin."

I looked up into Dwight's eyes, my breathing was finally starting to steady itself and my heart was slowing down. I felt tears roll down my cheeks and wrapped my arms around him, he moved a hand through my hair.

"It's okay, it was just a dream Angel." He reminded me, I nodded a little.

"It felt like I was reliving the past." I whispered against his chest. "Everything was so real."

"I know, it's okay." He repeated, stroking my hair.

He moved to lay next to me, I snuggled as close to him as I could get, hiding my face in his chest. He petted my hair, trying to soothe me and I wiped at my tears.

"Tell me about it, tell me about your dream." He asked of me, I nodded against him.

"It was like the beginning, when the walkers happened and the world was going to shit." I started. "When we met some of our family...that was nice. Seeing people again that aren't here anymore...and then..."

I stopped, not knowing if I could keep going. It was hard enough seeing all of it but talking about it, it hurt too much. It just felt like if I spoke it out loud, it would remind me that it was real and I didn't want it to be real. I felt like I was being a child about it, being in denial even after I'd witnessed their deaths with my own eyes. I knew I couldn't keep denying it forever but right now, I couldn't face the truth.

"It's alright darlin." Dwight said softly, my eyes met his. "Try to get some sleep, I'll stay awake and watch over you all night."

"But babe-"

He cut me off with a kiss, I smiled against his lips and moved my lips with his in a gentle kiss. He'd never kissed me this way before, as if it'd be the last time he'd ever be with me. It scared me a little, the thought of not being with him anymore. I felt as if I'd finally found my soul mate after all these years, the kiss just proved it to me.

"I love you Angel." He whispered, I felt my heart skip; that was the first time he'd ever said that to me.

"I love you too Dwight."

I smiled and cuddled close to him, shutting my eyes. He made me feel so safe and at ease, I hoped he wouldn't ever have to be away from me again. If something were to happen to him, I didn't know what I'd do. I felt myself getting drowsier, I finally felt like I could sleep peacefully. I felt Dwight kiss my forehead and smiled slightly, slowly starting to drift to sleep. The last thing I remembered was hearing his voice whispering in my ear.

"I promise, I'll never leave you."


	15. Chapter Fourteen: The Stowaway

Chapter Fourteen: The Stowaway

* * *

"Negan's trucks will be here soon, I have to go help unload."

I sighed quietly, nodding my head at the words. I didn't want Dwight to go but I knew what he had to do to keep up appearances, he couldn't stay with me 24/7 even though I wanted him to. He had his duties to attend to and as much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn't keep him from them. I just had to keep reminding myself that he was doing all this for me and our future together. He was doing all this to keep me safe and until we were free, he had to follow orders.

"Would you like to come with me?" He asked suddenly, I looked away from the tv and found his eyes.

"Won't you get in trouble?" I asked, feeling worried.

"No, I'm not really even unloading. Just overseeing everything." He answered, smiling a little.

I hit my cigarette one last time and sniped it out in the ashtray, moving to my feet. I grabbed my button up from the chair, tying it around my waist and went to his side. His smile widened and he put an arm around me after throwing my brother's crossbow over his shoulder, we walked side by side up the stairs and out the door of our room. It was easier to just go with him than agreeing out loud, I always seemed to back out if I verbally agreed to something that involved possibly seeing Negan. We walked the halls of the Sanctuary in comfortable silence, finally making it outside close to the fence. I tried to avoid looking at the fence as best I could, I hated seeing all the people forced to be in there with the walkers. I looked around to see there were a few trucks slowly moving across the lot and a few men walking in our direction, I guessed they were the unloading crew.

"Before they get over here with us..." Dwight stopped, I turned to look at him.

"Is something wrong?" I whispered, he smiled his perfect smile at me.

"No darlin, I just wanted to tell you that I love you." He said softly, I touched his scarred cheek and smiled a little.

"I love you too." I said quietly, he leaned his cheek into my touch.

I felt my cheeks heat up at the look in his eyes, it felt like he was staring into my soul. As I stared up at him, I could feel myself swooning at the intensity of his gaze. I was completely and irrevocably in love with this man, I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to hide it from Negan and the other Saviours. I wanted more than anything to have a future with him, I wanted to marry him and have children. This was more than puppy love or the honeymoon phase of a relationship, it was pure and true. I never thought I'd find this but now that I had, I'd be damned if someone took it away from me.

I lowered my eyes when he moved his arms around my waist, holding my body close to his. I stroked his cheek with my thumb, trying to ignore how hot my face felt. I could just feel eyes on us but I ignored the feeling as best I could, trying to focus my attention on Dwight. I didn't think I could hide how much I cared about him anymore, I wanted the world to know how much he meant to me; I just didn't know what Negan would do if he found out the truth. I didn't like the idea of being taken away from Dwight and I had a feeling that was something that Negan would do without hesitation, especially if he knew the truth about the both of us. That was part of the reason I was on the fence when it came to showing how I really felt, there were so many possible outcomes and I wasn't sure I was ready to play this game of Russian roulette.

As afraid as I was though, I knew Dwight was taking the bigger risk between the two of us. He'd kept his feelings for me secret since the beginning to keep me safe from Negan, in the end I'd still wound up here with him. The only reason I was here was as leverage against my brother, Negan had given me to Dwight with the intention of bending my brother to his will. As far as I knew it hadn't worked, but Dwight and I had gotten so much closer since I'd been here. He was my everything, I didn't want to imagine being without him. If I didn't have him, I would have lost myself in this mess; he was my strength.

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks at the thought and looked up through my lashes, finding Dwight's eyes. They were already on me, staring at me with the utmost love and dedication. If he was willing to let his wall down a little around other Saviours, then I supposed I could do the same thing for him. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest at the thought of what I was about to do and inhaled quietly. I stood up on my tiptoes and leaned my forehead against his, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Angel, we're being watched." He said in a hushed voice, I smiled a little.

"I don't care." I told him, he blinked curiously. "Kiss me."

He didn't need telling twice. He forcefully pressed his lips against mine, one of his hands grabbing the back of my head, his fingers lacing through my hair. I moved my free arm around his neck, moving my lips against his and pressed myself as close to him as I could get. I almost groaned when I felt his tongue rub against mine, feeling overwhelmed with need. I loved him, more than anything and I didn't give a shit who knew it.

"Well isn't this a damn sight!"

'Negan, shit.'

Dwight pulled out of the kiss, I felt my cheeks go hot and hid my face in his shirt, trying my hardest to avoid looking at Negan. He more than likely had the usual shit eating grin on his face that I was so used to seeing, a smug look in his eyes. Right now was definitely not the best time for me to face him, especially since my face more than likely looked like a tomato.

"Didn't think I'd _ever_ fuckin see her throw herself at ya Dwighty boy." Negan laughed, Dwight tightened his arms around my waist. "Sure Daryl didn't expect that shit either."

I blinked dumbly at the words and moved my face out of Dwight's shirt, I found my brother's face from the other side of the fence. I felt my heart sink at the look in his eyes, he looked completely broken and enraged at the same time. I could see a questioning look in his eyes, as if he were trying to ask me why I would betray my family the way I had. I stared back into his eyes, trying my hardest to let him know the truth, the truth that Dwight was on our side and that he loved me. As much as I stared at him though, the grief and pain in his eyes only grew worse.

'No...Daryl.'

"Okay boys I want to get this unloaded and-"

I moved my eyes to the truck that had just pulled up, Negan was already giving out orders on what needed to be done. I felt terrible, as if I'd betrayed my brother. That's how he'd looked at me and it tore me up, I hoped I could distract myself from this feeling...even if it was only for a little while. I turned to Dwight when he nudged me, he nodded his head towards the truck. I nodded understanding and followed him over to it, standing beside him as two men got up in the back of it. Shots were fired and Dwight pulled me off to the side quickly, I felt my heart drop when I saw Carl come into view.

"Stay back!" He ordered, shouldering the assault rifle. "Drop your weapons. I only want Negan, he killed my friends."

Dwight swung the crossbow off his back, aiming it at Carl and pushed me to stand behind him. I peaked around him at Carl, my heart felt like it was going to explode it was beating so hard. This day had taken an even worse turn than I had expected, what was I supposed to do? Was there any way that I could help him and keep him safe from the wrath of the saviours? Negan whistled softly, approaching behind the crowds of people, Carl locked his gaze on him.

"Damn." Negan mumbled, a grin on his lips. "You are adorable. Did you pick that gun because it looks cool? You totally did right? Kid, I ain't gonna lie. You scare the shit out of me."

One of the Saviours tried to approach Carl, he fired at their feet instantly.

"Carl no!" I screamed, his eye locked on my face.

"Give me Angel, now!" Carl yelled, Negan chuckled softly.

"How cute. You came all this way to save your little guardian Angel huh?" He teased, Carl aimed the gun in his direction.

"Let her go and you can live another day." Carl demanded angrily, I touched Dwight's arm from behind him; Negan whistled quietly.

"Why don't, you ask her what _she_ wants?" He suggested, a wide grin on his lips. "Because from the way that _she_ was kissing D a few minutes ago, I'm pretty sure she's content here."

Carl narrowed his eye angrily at his words, I moved around Dwight to go to Carl but he immediately grabbed hold of my wrist to stop me. Carl aimed the gun at Dwight instantly, I held my breath in anticipation.

"Let her go." He repeated.

"Dwight now." Negan ordered, Dwight released my wrist as commanded.

I slowly walked away from Dwight, moving towards the truck where Carl stood. Saviours moved out of my way as I passed but none tried to stop me, I felt like I was a turtle going so slow but I didn't want to make any sudden movements. I was so close, I could almost touch him. He moved one of his hands from the gun when I was close enough, holding it out to me. I swallowed nervously and placed my hand on his, he pulled me up next to him and moved to stand in front of me.

"Now I want a car and you won't follow us." He demanded, Negan's grin widened.

I looked over my shoulder, one of the dead ones had a knife on his belt. I reached back as quietly as possible, pulling the knife off his belt. This was the first weapon I'd held since the night I was taken away, I hated what I had to do.

'I'm sorry Carl but if I don't do this, they'll kill you.'

I held my breath and touched Carl's arm, throwing my other arm around his neck and held the knife to his throat.

"Carl, drop the gun." I ordered, Negan clapped his hands together.

"I didn't wanna say I told you so but, oh what the hell am I saying?" He laughed. "I told ya so."

"Do it." I whispered. "They'll kill you, please Carl."

Carl dropped the gun as commanded, I took a slow breath and nudged him forward.

"Walk." I said.

He did what I said, moving the rest of the way down from the truck as I followed behind him. It really destroyed me that I'd had to do this to Carl but there had been no other option, if I hadn't then someone would've killed him and I couldn't lose another member of my family. I leaned forward next to his ear, trying to hold the tears back.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, he nodded.

"Good girl." Negan said, clapping his hands. "See how much she's grown since she got here? Unlike _somebody_."

I avoided Negan's eyes, knowing he was talking about Daryl. I moved the knife away from Carl's throat and took a few steps away from him, dropping the knife. I felt a pair of familiar hands placed on my shoulders, I moved into Dwight's arms without a thought. He was the only thing that could comfort me right now, I felt like I'd betrayed both Carl and Daryl...I thought I was doing the right thing. I buried my face in his shirt, trying to hide my tears.

"Let me show ya around kid." Negan said, I looked up to see him putting an arm around Carl's shoulders.

"Come on Angel." Dwight said. "Let's go back to our room for a while."

I nodded and he took my hand, leading me from the parking lot back inside the building. We walked the halls in silence, finally making it back to our room after a few minutes. I collapsed on the bed, curling up in a ball and Dwight laid next to me, wrapping his arm around me.

"Talk to me." He asked of me, I felt tears roll down my cheeks.

"I feel like I've betrayed them." I whispered, he kissed my nose tenderly.

"How?" He pressed, I bit down on my lower lip nervously.

"Carl tried to save me...and I just handed him to Negan." I said, trying not to choke on my words.

"He would've had him killed if you hadn't." He said, I lowered my eyes. "You know it's true, if you hadn't gotten that gun away from him then he would've been taken out by someone."

"He probably doesn't see that." I mumbled, Dwight chuckled.

"How could he? He only has one eye." He joked, I tightened my lips into a thin line.

"That's not funny." I said, trying to hold in my anger.

"I'm sorry darlin, I just...I don't want you to blame yourself." He admitted. "The kid got himself into a mess, you couldn't have done anything else."

I didn't even have the heart to agree with him, the looks my brother had given me were weighing heavy in my mind. He looked so utterly betrayed and I was the cause of that, there was no way I could fix this.

"Daryl must hate me." I whispered sadly.

"He doesn't know the truth darlin." He reminded me, I nodded sullenly.

"But...if he did, he'd..." I looked up at Dwight hopefully, he nodded his head in agreement.

"He'd know you were safe." He finished. "I'll never let anythin happen to you."

"I know you won't." I murmured, smiling a little when he placed a kiss on my forehead. "I'd like to talk to Carl...do you think Negan would let me?" Dwight shrugged his shoulders, tilting his head against the pillows to look at me.

"We can always ask." he commented. "Your little display of loyalty earlier might sway him." I felt my cheeks go warm at his teasing tone of voice and he chuckled softly, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

"I just love you." I mumbled, trying to ignore how hot my face felt.

"And I love you." he whispered, placing a kiss into my hair. "Let's go find Negan, see if you can talk to the kid."

I nodded enthusiastically and wiggled out of his arms, hopping up from the bed. I smiled a little when he took my hand in his, following him up the stairs and out of the room. We walked the halls silently, passing other saviours as we walked until we finally stopped outside a door. I didn't recognize this hallway or door so I wondered where we were but I didn't question it, Dwight knew what he was doing. He raised a hand to the door, knocking lightly and it slowly creaked open a few seconds later. I felt my eyes widen at the site of Tina, she smiled softly when her eyes met Dwight's.

"Hey D." she greeted softly.

"Hey T." he said, sounding slightly teasing. "Negan here?" She nodded in agreement, opening the door wider.

"Yeah, come in."

Dwight took a step into the room, tugging on my hand to urge me to follow him. I was a little nervous because Tina's eyes were locked on me at this point, I hadn't thought I'd ever see her again after the burnt forest but here she was. She looked much better than she had then, as though she were finally getting the proper treatment for her diabetes. Her eyes were sad though, I hoped she didn't blame me for her sister's death. I needed to talk to her, find out if she blamed me for everything that had happened. I swallowed the lump in my throat and followed behind Dwight quietly, trying to stay hidden behind him as we walked further into the room.

"Ah D, what a surprise." Negan's voice boomed. "And is _my_ guardian Angel back there hiding?" I felt my cheeks go hot and peaked around Dwight, finding Negan's face. "There she is, didn't I tell ya she never leaves his side kid?" I found Carl's eye locked on my face, I felt my stomach do a flip.

"Angel wanted to talk to the kid, if you're alright with it." Dwight was saying, I bit down on my lower lip nervously.

"She would huh?" Negan repeated, a wide grin coming to his lips. "Well, I guess we got a little spare time before shit gets started so why not. Kid, go on."

I moved out from behind Dwight when Carl took a step forward and quickly moved across the room to him, I tried to suppress my smile when his arm went around my shoulders. We walked away from Negan and Dwight, heading to stand behind one of the couches some of Negan's wives were sitting on. I could hear Negan talking to Dwight about something, he was saying something about lighting up the furnace. I didn't have the slightest idea what was going on but I was more focused on trying to talk to Carl.

"How could you?" he hissed, I found his eye locked on my face again.

"They would've killed you." I whispered. "I did it to save you."

"Not that."

I bowed my head at his words, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He thought I had turned on our people and that I was supporting Negan now, he thought I was going to become a saviour. I had to fix this and quick, but I also had to be careful. We were in earshot of Negan's wives and even though they were wrapped up in their own conversation, I couldn't risk exposing myself. I had to be careful with my words and try to get him to understand the truth.

"Carl...I love him." I admitted, his eye narrowed angrily at my words. "Please, you have to understand. He takes care of me, he's good to me-"

"He's the enemy." he interrupted.

"He keeps me safe from Negan." I told him. "I haven't done without anything because of him."

"He killed Denise." he spat, I bowed my head at his words.

"He's done what he's had to do to keep me safe." I murmured, playing with a strand of my hair. "Tell Sasha I miss her when you can, okay?"

I could see the confusion in his eye as he looked at me but he nodded in agreement, the anger on his face was gone. He knew that I wasn't as close to Sasha as some of the others in our group but he also knew that she was guarding Maggie at the Hilltop, which meant he now knew that I'd seen Maggie. To top it off, he knew I looked at Maggie as an older sister and told her everything, so he knew where the answers would be once he left this place. I only hoped that would happen, Negan couldn't possibly hold Carl hostage...could he?

"Angel."

I whipped my head around at the sound of Dwight's voice, finding his blue eyes. He forced a smile and nodded, holding his hand out to me. I was confused, he never forced smiles around me, it always came naturally. What had Negan said to him? Something was definitely wrong, I could see it.

"Let's go, we have stuff to take care of."

I nodded a little and turned back to Carl, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He managed to squeeze me once before I slipped out of his arms, going to Dwight's side and taking his hand. I followed Dwight out of the room after bowing my head to Negan and leaned my head on his shoulder once we were in the safety of the hallway.

"What's wrong?" I pressed, his lips were tightened into a thin line.

"We have to head down to the furnace room." he replied, I blinked curiously at his tone of voice.

"Why?" I pried, his frown deepened and he said the last words I thought I'd hear.

"Someone's getting _the_ _iron_."

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 **Author's Note: Sorry the wait for this was so long, working on multiple stories has me quite busy so I hope it was worth it. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter in the reviews!**


	16. Chapter Fifteen: The Mission

Chapter Fifteen: The Mission

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"THE RULES KEEP US ALIVE."

The words echoed throughout the room, I swallowed nervously as I stared down the iron. A man named Mark was tied to a chair, Negan was holding the red hot iron next to his face as he finished his speech. I felt Carl squeeze my hand from next to me, squeezing his back in return. Dwight was standing over by the furnace wearing some protective gear, a long iron hook in his hand. Apparently he was Negan's helper when someone was to be given the iron, I'd take a wild guess and say that he had been it's first victim. As I stood here, I tried my hardest to stay grounded. I was about to witness what had happened to the love of my life and I was slowly losing my cool, I was either going to have a panic attack or swing a fist Negan's way.

My eyes widened when Negan pressed the red hot side of the iron against the left side of Mark's face without hesitation, he let out the most terrible scream when it touched his skin. I wanted to turn my face away from the site but I knew Negan would do something to me for not looking, the only person that turned her head away was a blonde girl that I assumed was one of Negan's wives. I swallowed the lump in my throat as the screaming continued, finding Daryl's face. He was focused on the ground, holding tightly onto the mop in his hands. I didn't know how long Negan held the iron there, seconds or minutes, but he finally pulled it away from the Mark's face after he passed out. I felt my stomach cringe when I saw the skin stretch away from his face, attached to the iron before breaking off, the skin melted against his damaged face.

"Alright Doc, do your thing." Negan ordered.

Doctor Carson moved forward to exam the Mark's face, I tried my hardest to stay steady on my feet as he looked him over. I felt so woozy and lightheaded from the whole ordeal, I _never_ wanted to have to witness something like that again. It had been so horrific and proved how much of a monster Negan truly was, Negan only cared about himself and what he wanted. I couldn't begin to understand why these people just let it happen, no one had even protested to Mark's disfigurement and just let Negan do what he wanted. Why didn't they fight back?

"Now I don't _ever_ want to do that shit again." Negan stated, placing the iron on the end of the hook.

Dwight moved to put the iron back in the furnace, his eyes cast down. I bit down on my lower lip, finding Daryl's eyes. He looked so broken as I stared at him, there had to be some way that I could help him. I had to get my brother out of here, no matter what it took and that was exactly what I was going to do. At this point, I didn't care what happened to me as long as my brother was safe. He was my priority and I would do whatever I had to do to make this happen.

"Clean up this mess for me Daryl."

I watched as Daryl moved forward with the mop, cleaning up the urine from the floor while Negan finished up his closing speech. I felt Carl squeeze my hand again, trying to comfort me as best he could and I leaned my head on his shoulder. I'd admit that I felt much happier since I had Carl here with me but I knew it couldn't last forever, Carl needed to get back to Alexandria and protect our people. His little act of making his way here to kill Negan wasn't going to go over well, I had a feeling the Negan was going to do something to one of our people back home to show Rick that he meant business. He had to be pissed off about what Carl had done, even if he wasn't showing it right now.

"Now then." I blinked dumbly when Negan walked forward and wrapped an arm around Carl's shoulders, a shit eating grin on his face. "Let's figure out what to do with you." he teased.

I moved my head off Carl's shoulder and released his hand, watching quietly as Negan led Carl away. I stood there awkwardly as everyone began piling out of the room, unsure of what to do with myself as I watched Dwight work on shutting the furnace off. I felt a small smile come to my lips as I watched him, he was so focused on what he was doing, I loved watching him like that. He was the same way when he was working on his wood carvings, I loved seeing the way his brow would furrow in concentration or the way he would breathe through his nose when he would get frustrated. Just watching him and the way he did things, it made me all giddy inside. This had to be what true love felt like.

"Well hey there."

I blinked dumbly when an arm went around my shoulders, cringing a little when I saw that it was Simon that had stepped up next to me. I sealed my lips shut, trying hard not to say something that would make my situation worse. It was so hard not to just shove him away and tell him to fuck off, but I knew that I needed to keep my cool if I was going to get Daryl out of this place. I had to get not only Negan, but the other Saviours to trust me. Since Simon was Negan's right hand, perhaps I could manipulate him into putting a good word in for me with Negan then I wouldn't be suspected once Daryl was out of The Sanctuary.

"You enjoy the show?" he teased, squeezing his arm around my shoulders. I lowered my eyes to the floor, trying my hardest to hold in my anger. "See, that's the shit that happens when you break the fuckin rules around here. Your little boyfriend over there was the first to get the iron."

I raised my head from the floor and looked up at Simon's face, trying to hide my _real_ emotions as best I could. I hadn't done this in a long time, since the beginning of the walkers when I'd run into the people that had become my family, but I knew that I had to. When I'd been drifting around with Daryl and Merle, I'd had plenty of different acts that I used to get us what we wanted/needed. I hadn't needed to use this facade since all of our group had become a family but then again, I'd never been in a situation where I'd needed to before the Saviours came into the picture. This was it though, this was the beginning of me rescuing Daryl from this place.

I focused on turning off my emotions, pulling out an act that I'd been used to doing back in the day. This sure would surprise Simon, that was for damn sure. I forced a smirk to come to my lips, trying to look as seductive as possible as I stared at him.

"Maybe Daryl should get it then, if it makes people behave." I suggested, Simon raised an eyebrow at my words.

"Oh yeah?" he pressed, my smirk widened.

"Why not?" I asked, trying to sound uncaring. "Obviously me being here as leverage isn't working."

"Heh, you're right about that. He's a stubborn one." Simon chortled, I nodded a little. "Maybe I'll bring it up to Negan when he gets back." I nodded again, forcing myself not to ask about Negan's whereabouts and poked his shoulder.

"You won't forget to tell him who suggested it right?" I teased.

I watched as Simon's lips curved into a smirk, his arm tightening around my shoulders, pulling me to stand closer to him. Our sides were touching at this point, he more than likely kept a key to a vehicle or two in his pocket, if I could manage to snatch one then I'd be golden. But he'd know it was me once he noticed he was missing a key, fuck what was I going to do? I had to get a key to a bike, I couldn't use mine or Negan would know I helped my brother. Fuck, I'd need to think of an alternate plan.

"Maybe." he played. "You gotta say the right thing though."

"Yeah?" I pressed. "What's that?"

"It's not my place to ask ya that, that's the main man's thing." he explained, the same grin on his face.

"I look forward to it then."

"Angel." I turned my head away from Simon, finding Dwight's eyes on me. I forced my heart to calm down, trying my hardest to keep my blush at bay as I looked at him.

"Good show D." Simon said, moving his arm from my shoulders.

Dwight nodded stiffly, his lips tightened into a thin line as he stared Simon down. He had a territorial look on his face, a look that told me how pissed off he was that Simon had the balls to be this close to me. I could see in his eyes how angry he was, I hoped he wouldn't say anything that could ruin my plan.

"Gotta go, see you around." I said quickly. I moved away from Simon, walking across the floor to Dwight and threw my arms around his neck when I made it to him. "Babe, I'm hungry." I told him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. He blinked dumbly, looking as though he didn't understand what had gotten into me and nodded once.

"C'mon Angel, we'll get some lunch." I smiled brightly and took his hand, walking with him out of the furnace room. Once we were out of earshot, he turned his gaze to me. "What are you doing?" he hissed, staring down into my eyes. I felt my act melt away and squeezed his hand, leaning my head on his shoulder as we walked.

"I'm trying to make things easier on us." I lied, knowing that I couldn't tell him my plan. "I want to be able to do things with you, I'm tired of walking around like a slave."

"I know darlin." he murmured, placing a kiss into my hair. "I'm just not sure how I feel about you being a Saviour."

"Well I don't want to be a hostage anymore." I admitted.

"I don't either." he agreed as we walked the halls. "I don't want you to be a worker though, living off points is rough and nearly impossible."

"But you're in charge of me so would I actually have to?" I questioned, he sighed softly.

"Everyone has to do their part, the only ones that don't are Negan's wives. They get it easier in the work aspect but they have to deal with Negan more often than the rest of us." he explained. I bit down on my lower lip, I'd quickly realized that moving up from a hostage only had two options; worker or Saviour, the choice was mine.

"So what do we do then babe?" I pressed.

The look on his face told me how defeated he felt about our situation, I knew there was only one option and so did he. The way he was avoiding my eyes, he knew that I'd have to become a Saviour in order to keep our secret safe. If Negan found out that we'd been involved with each other before he took Alexandria, I didn't know what would happen to us. I watched as he shrugged his shoulders, finally turning his eyes to meet mine.

"For now, let's just focus on our time together." he sighed. "I want to keep you safe darlin but there's only so much I can do while you're a hostage."

"I know." I agreed. "It's alright."

We didn't exchange anymore words as we walked into the room that held food, making our way across the floor around some of the workers. I stood off to the side while Dwight went about collecting food for our lunch, cutting infront of people to get what he wanted. Another perk of being a Saviour, you didn't have to wait in line or pay with points for anything. After a few minutes worth of waiting, Dwight had a decent amount of items for our lunch and we head out of the room together, making our way back to our shared room.

I hated to admit how awkward our lunch together was, we ate in silence and avoided each other's eyes as we stared at the tv. Things had never been awkward like this between us but I knew that he was wrapped up in his thoughts, our situation was more complicated than either of us cared to admit out loud. As much as I wanted to ease him, I knew that nothing I said would work. Things just seemed to be getting more complicated the longer I was here at the Sanctuary, I wasn't sure what the best move to make was. All I did know though, was that I _had_ to get Daryl out of here while Negan was gone.

'Wait, maybe Tina would help me. I can tell she doesn't want to be here so maybe she'll help me get Daryl out if it means she can escape. I'm not sure how I could get away from Dwight long enough to talk to her though, what can I do?'

I pondered over the possibilities silently as I stared at the tv, taking a drag off the cigarette Dwight had offered me. I had limited options but maybe, being a female could come in handy for once. I inwardly grinned when an idea popped into my head, turning my attention to Dwight.

'He's drinking again.'

I could've frowned when I saw him drinking straight from a bottle of whiskey, he had slowly begun drinking more often and I hated seeing how he got when he was drunk. He was _almost_ always an emotional wreck, constantly hating himself for the things he'd done and blaming himself for the situation we were in together. As much as I didn't like watching him tear himself apart, I knew that this was the best thing that could happen for my plan. If he passed out, I'd manage to sneak away from him long enough to talk to Tina. I didn't want to have to do this but I knew it was the only way, I had to goad him into drinking more.

I took another puff of my cigarette before sniping it and scooted across the couch to him, moving some of his hair away from his face to grab his attention, my fingers brushed against his scarred cheek. I cringed back when his fingers wrapped around my wrist, his blue eyes finding my own. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I held his gaze, knowing what was coming. With the bottle being halfway gone, I knew he was already drunk and the same thing always happened, I just had to harden up my heart and deal with it this time.

"Don't."

"Dwight-"

"Just don't!" he yelled, I pressed my lips into a thin line.

"It doesn't bother me." I argued.

He scoffed quietly, releasing his hold on my wrist and took another swig from the bottle. I pursed my lips and scooted closer to him, moving my hand to cup his cheek. My palm managed to brush the scar on his face before his fingers closed around my wrist again, holding it tighter than before.

"I said don't." he snapped, hardening his gaze.

"It doesn't bother me." I repeated, trying not to raise my voice at him.

"It doesn't bother you." he repeated, his voice was slowly rising in volume. "It doesn't bother _you_!"

"Dwight-"

"Shut up!" I flinched when he squeezed my wrist harder, his eyes were cold as he stared at me, I didn't think I'd ever seen him lose control like this. "I'm hideous Angel and that doesn't bother you!"

"You aren't." I retorted.

"You're lying!" he screamed. I bowed my head when he grabbed hold of my free arm, trying to hold the tears in as he shook me. "Look at me! Fucking look at me!"

"Stop it." I pleaded. "You're not thinking straight."

"Damn it, look at me!"

I gasped when he shoved me backwards, falling back on the couch. His hands went to my wrists, pinning me down as he straddled my waist, my back was pressing into the cushions as he leaned forward to stare at me. I looked up into his glossy eyes, trying my hardest to hold it together.

"What?" he growled.

"I love you." I whispered. He scoffed at that, looking even angrier that I'd told him how I felt.

"Bullshit." he spat, I felt my heart breaking.

"I love you." I repeated, I could feel my eyes burning with tears.

He was so different when he was drunk, I could see all the pain in his eyes, the hatred he had for himself, the disgust with his appearance. What hurt the most though, was that I knew I couldn't soothe all the turmoil inside him and I couldn't turn back time to save him from it all. I blinked, tears began rolling down my cheeks as I stared up at him.

"Dwight, please-"

"Please what?" he interrupted, he was screaming at this point. "Huh Angel? You don't like looking at me? You don't want to see _this_ , what he did to my _face!_ "

"It's not-"

"Am I not good enough now?" he hollered, I flinched against the cushions. "Are you too good to be seen with me?"

"Dwight-"

"Huh? Is that why you were getting buddy buddy with Simon?" he raged.

"No, I just wanted to help us and-"

"Fuckin what?" he yelled. "I can't take care of you or something?"

"I wasn't saying-"

"It's my face!" he screamed. "You think I'm a burned freak!"

"NO!" I cried, trying my hardest to free myself from his grip. "STOP IT!"

"What?" he continued yelling. "Can't face the truth? I face it _every day_ , every time I look in the damn mirror!"

"Please." I begged. "You only do this when you drink, don't drink anymore and let's just talk about this."

"Fuck off."

I felt more tears rolling down my cheeks as he released his hold on me and climbed off me, grabbing hold of the bottle and staggering across the room to the armchair. I swallowed nervously as he plopped down into the chair, raising the bottle back to his lips as he chugged down more of the alcohol. I bowed my head as I sat up and grabbed a cigarette from the pack, lighting it quickly and breathed in the smoke. It was tearing me apart watching him destroy himself like this and what was worse, I had goaded him into drinking more by telling him not to. I knew it was the only way I could help Daryl though, Dwight had to be out of the way so Negan wouldn't blame him for the escape. As much as it hurt me to do this to him, I knew it was the only way to keep him safe from Negan's wrath.

I watched silently as Dwight continued drinking for another fifteen minutes, smoking my cigarette slowly and avoiding eye contact with him. As the minutes ticked by, the bottle was growing closer to empty and I knew it was only a matter of time before he passed out. I glanced over at the tv to see a new episode starting before I heard a soft thud, looking back in Dwight's direction. The bottle was empty, lying in the floor while Dwight was slumped in the chair, his arm dangling over the side with his eyes closed. I cautiously moved up from the couch and crept over to him, kneeling down beside the chair. I moved my hand to his face, cupping his scarred cheek. He didn't respond so he had to be asleep, it was time for me to make my move.

"D, I love you." I said softly, running my thumb across his skin. "You're beautiful to me, I don't want you to ever doubt that again. You mean everything to me and one day, we'll be free."

I smiled a little, trying to reassure myself that I'd done the right thing and moved to my feet, walking away from him. I head up the stairs quietly and opened the door, peaking around it into the hallway. Nothing, it was clear. I took a slow breath and moved into the hallway, shutting the door behind me and quickly scampered down the hallway in the direction of the room I'd seen Negan's wives in earlier. Mission one was to get Daryl out of here and soon enough, that would be a reality. Mission two, was getting myself out of this place. However much I wanted that though, I knew I'd never be able to leave without Dwight.

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 **Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! We're almost at the mid-season finale chapter! I hope everyone enjoys the changes that have been made throughout this story. Review please!  
**


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Go Now

Chapter Sixteen: Go Now

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I raised my hand to the door, knocking softly. I took in a slow breath to steady my nerves, rocking back and forth on my heels as I waited for it to open. I was nervous to put it simply, I was standing outside of the room that Negan's wives were in, hoping to gain an ally. I hoped that this would work out and I would manage to get Daryl out of here, I knew I couldn't do it alone so I prayed that Tina would help me. There were so many things that could go wrong with this plan of mine but I couldn't back down, no matter how much I wanted to. I had to see this through to the end and save my brother. I swallowed when I saw the door moving before a redheaded woman finally came into view. She looked at me curiously, more than likely wondering who I was and I raised my hand slightly, trying to show I wasn't a threat.

"Hi um, I'm Angel. I um...is Tina here?" I asked, trying not to stutter over my own words. The red head nodded, eyeing me suspiciously.

"You're D's girl right?" she guessed, I nodded once.

"Yeah." I agreed, playing with my fingers. "I just...I needed some um...girl things and he told me Tina would help me." She nodded again, opening the door wider as she looked over her shoulder.

"Tina, someone here for you." she said, walking away from the door.

I stood in the hallway awkwardly, unsure if I should walk in or wait where I was before deciding not to invite myself in. After a long ten seconds, Tina finally came into view, her head cast down as she walked. I could see how sad she was through her facial expressions, her body language was practically screaming it as she approached the door, I truly hoped she didn't blame me for her sister's death. I tried to smile when she raised her head, her eyes meeting mine.

"Hi." I greeted.

"Angel right?" she guessed, I nodded in agreement.

"I was hoping we could talk." I admitted, rubbing my arm. "If you aren't busy."

"Yeah, sure." she agreed. "We'll go to my room." She stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind her, walking down the right side of the hallway. I followed behind her silently, hoping everything would work out the way I wanted. "I would've offered for you to come in but Amber's a mess, everyone else is trying to take care of her." Tina explained, looking back at me over her shoulder.

"Because of what happened to that man?" I pressed, she nodded and I walked up next to her.

"Yeah, she loves Mark but she married Negan so her mother would be taken care of." she continued, sounding sad about the girl's situation. "She's beginning to regret it but she can't back out now." As much as I knew it wasn't my business, I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"Do you?"

Tina glanced over at me, tucking some of her blonde hair behind her ear as our eyes met but didn't answer my question. She stopped next to a door and turned the knob, pushing open the door and walking inside the room. I followed behind her quietly, shutting the door behind me.

"Yeah." I blinked curiously.

"What?"

"I regret it in some ways." Tina told me, taking a seat on the bed in the room. "But I did it to save D, I knew it was what my sister would've wanted."

I nodded a little, absentmindedly bowing my head at her words. She'd already sacrificed so much to help Dwight, all because she wanted to honor her sister's memory. Her words had told me she regretted marrying Negan so maybe, this would be something she would be interested in doing if it meant getting away from him. However, at the same time, I wasn't sure that she'd be willing to help me. I had pretty much become her sister's replacement in Dwight's life and if she blamed me for Sherry's death, it was unlikely that she'd help me save my brother.

"Do you love him?" I blinked dumbly at the question, raising my eyes to meet hers.

"What?" I breathed, she smiled a little.

"Dwight." she said easily. "Do you love him?"

I didn't say anything for a moment as I stared at her, trying to understand why she would be so calm while asking me that. I had taken her sister's place in Dwight's life, how was she able to be so calm and collected about that? The look on her face told me that she genuinely wanted to know, she was interested rather than scornful and that helped ease my conscious about answering the question.

"I do." I agreed, I felt my cheeks heating up as my mind moved to Dwight. "I love him more than anything."

Her smile widened at my response, she patted the spot next to her and I hesitantly took a seat, trying to wipe the blush off my face. I couldn't begin to understand why she looked happy about my confession, especially since her sister had been married to Dwight before her untimely death. What was going through her head? I had to understand what was going on.

"I'm glad we ran into you then." she admitted, I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "Sherry...she was my sister and I loved her, but she stopped treating him right once we got here...she changed."

"I don't understand." I whispered, feeling all the more confused. Tina sighed softly, playing with the hem of her dress before saying anything.

"Sherry blamed D." she started. "Before we met you, we worked for points and it was hard. My medicine was expensive and we were barely making it, Sherry started blaming him for the situation we were in. She started yelling at him all the time and fighting with him, he always just took it, never fought back once." She grimaced a little, I tried to urge her to continue with my eyes. "After a few months of being here and her blaming him, Negan asked me to marry him. I told him I needed to think about it before giving him an answer. I knew that I'd never have to worry about getting my medicine again but I wanted to let Sherry and D know, so they could start worrying about themselves instead of me."

"So what happened?" I asked, she lowered her eyes.

"Sherry wasn't okay with it." she sighed. "She didn't want me to do it, she didn't want me to lower myself to that. She'd been talking about escaping for weeks but that was what pushed her over the edge."

"So it was her idea?" I guessed, she nodded in agreement.

"Dwight told her it was a bad idea, that we shouldn't do it. That conversation didn't go over well, things were already rocky with them since Sherry had changed so much." Tina explained. "She finally snapped and blackmailed him."

"What do you mean?" I pressed.

"She told him she'd leave him if he didn't help her get me out of here." she whispered. "Dwight's a good man and she took advantage of him, he stole all the insulin from Doctor Carson and we left right after. The old Sherry would've never done that to him, given him an ultimatum like that but since all this happened...she wasn't the same person anymore."

"Why do you think she changed?" I asked, she shrugged at the question.

"I don't know." she sighed. "I wish she hadn't...but I'm glad he has you now, I can tell how much he loves you." I felt my cheeks go warm again and lowered my eyes, playing with a strand of my hair. "It was obvious the moment he saw you and I think that's why Sherry tried to make amends with him before she died, she knew he was starting to see through her bullshit."

"I don't understand." I whispered.

"She was just using him for protection, she wanted him to take the fall for the escape if we got caught." Tina admitted, sounding sad. "I never thought she would change like that, but she did. Dwight was finally seeing that, he wanted to believe everything could be fixed with her but when you were talking to him, he realized the truth. You treated him with respect, even though we were holding you and your brother hostage, I think it made him like you even more and it opened his eyes to what she was doing."

"How?" I asked.

I was growing more curious as she talked about everything, I'd never known the truth about their escape and everything that had happened. Tina was shedding so much light for me, I was finally starting to understand everything the longer she talked.

"I talked to him, after Sherry died, he admitted that he was attracted to you." she said, giggling softly. "I told him that he should join your community and I would just go back to Negan, Dwight wanted to drop me off so that's why we took your bike. We got caught though and taken back here, he couldn't leave to come find you. He doesn't just like you because you're pretty, he likes your heart." I looked up, finding Tina's eyes and she smiled softly. "I'm glad he has you, I know you'll take care of him."

"I will." I swore. "I want to help you though, I know you aren't happy here."

"I'm not." she agreed, her eyes were growing sad again. "But there's nothing you can do."

"Negan's gone right now, you have time to get out." I told her. "I know somewhere that you could be safe, if you can help me." She looked at me curiously, I could see she was confused but I knew that if she helped Daryl, then he'd help her.

"Help you with what?" she pressed, I bit down on my lower lip nervously.

"My brother...I need a way to get him out of here." I admitted. "And if I can get him out, then he can help you."

"If I'm found with him then it'll make things worse on his part." she said, shaking her head. "I'll help you get him out but I need to go off on my own. Now, what do we need to do?"

"I need a key to a bike, if I can get it to him then he can get out easily." I told her, she nodded a little.

"Most of the guards keep keys on them but we'd need to knock one of them out, we can't be seen." she said, scratching the back of her head in thought. "I could probably get something from Doctor Carson's office, there's plenty of sedatives in there."

"That sounds dangerous." I was hesitant about the use of a drug on someone, I didn't know anything about them or how to use a syringe.

"I was a nurse before everything happened." Tina admitted. "I know how to administer drugs like that and I know about every medicine in there, it won't be a problem. I'll just need to get a few doses of my insulin before I leave. You ready?"

This plan was risky, riskier than what I'd first anticipated but it was the only one we had. We didn't have time to weigh our options, Negan had been gone for a few hours at this point and if we were going to do this, it had to be _now_. We wouldn't get another chance, this was our only shot. I nodded in agreement and we moved up from the bed together, I watched curiously as Tina went over to a dresser in her room, opening a drawer. I waited silently as she dug through the drawer, finally pulling out what looked like a handful of condoms. What was she doing?

'Here, you need some proof for why you were here." she stated. "Once I'm gone there won't be anyone to vouch for you."

I nodded in agreement and shoved the condoms in the pocket of my pants, and followed her to the door, heading out of her room and down the hallway in the direction of Doctor Carson's office. We didn't say anything as we walked down the hallway, I knew Tina had to be just as nervous as I was about this plan but neither of us spoke about it. After a few minutes worth of walking, we made it outside of the office, Tina motioned for me to wait outside and walked in.

'Please let this work, if this doesn't work and I can't get Daryl out of here today then we're doomed. There won't be another opportunity like this anytime soon. This is it. Please, please, please let me be able to save him.'

I stood in the hallway, waiting quietly as the minutes ticked by before Tina emerged. She nodded once, no words needed to be exchanged for me to know that she had what we came here for. I followed her down the hallway, taking a few turns as we head in the direction of the cells before we suddenly stopped. I watched as Tina looked around the corner, shaking her head. I could hear some men talking, it sounded like at least four, we'd have to go a different way. The seconds went by agonizingly slow before she gave the signal to go across the hall, we quietly moved into the stairwell, going a different direction.

The detour added about ten minutes to our trip but I was finally able to recognize where I was in the factory after about five minutes, Tina peaked her head around a corner once we came to a stop. I'd seen this hallway in passing but I'd never been down it, Dwight had never let me for fear of Negan's wrath. I hadn't managed to have a real conversation with my brother since we'd been taken away and I knew that once he was out, that it'd be a long time before I'd see him again. However much it hurt me to be separated from him, I wanted him safe more than anything else, even if it meant not being able to say goodbye.

I blinked curiously when Tina motioned for me to stay back, watching as she entered the hallway. I peaked around the corner, watching as she quietly approached the guard on watch. He was bent down over what looked like a cd player, looking as though he was searching through cds for something in-particular, he never saw Tina coming. I bit down on my lip when she jammed the syringe into the back of the guard's shoulder, injecting the sedative into his veins. She pivoted around him as he moved, keeping out of his line of sight as the drug took effect. Within seconds, he collapsed to the floor, appearing to be unconscious. I waited for a few seconds before bolting down the hallway, Tina was already searching his pockets as I made it next to her.

"Well?" I pressed.

"We got it." she said, holding up a set of keys. "This one is to the cells, which one looks like a bike key?" I looked over all the keys when she handed them over, finally finding one that was the key to a bike and pulled it off the ring.

"This one." I said easily.

"Okay, I wrote this for Daryl when I was in Doctor Carson's office." she said, pulling a piece of paper out from one of her boots. I looked over the note, it was simple enough and straight to the point; _GO NOW_. Daryl would get the message that I was trying to help him, I only hoped that he wouldn't stick around and try to find me.

"Thank you, really." I whispered. She smiled softly, nodding.

"You're welcome." she said, she had begun walking backwards down the hallway. "Unlock his cell and slip the note under with the key, get out of here as soon as you do that. I'm going now."

"Good luck Tina."

"Thanks Angel, keep D safe."

And then she was gone, I scurried across the floor to Daryl's cell and shoved the key in the lock. I knelt down to the floor and placed the paper down, words facing up before placing the key on top. I took a slow breath and pushed the note and key underneath the door, straightening up and turned the key in the lock. There was a loud click and I knew that it was time for me to disappear as well, before someone saw me here.

'I love you Daryl, don't come back for me.'

I bolted down the hallway, back the way I came and carefully made my way through the factory, heading back to the room I shared with Dwight. As I walked, I prayed as hard as I could that Daryl would get out safely, back to our family. I could only hope that he wouldn't come back for me, I could only hope that he'd manage to talk to someone that knew the truth, someone that knew I was safe. As much as I wished for that though, I knew it was only a matter of time before he _did_ come back for me.

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 **Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I did my best to work Tina in to doing what Sherry did in the show. As hard as it was, I think I managed pretty well. Plus, can't be having Sherry in the picture since Angel is her replacement in Dwight's life. Didn't really want to have to deal with that conflict. Anyway, please review and let me know what you thought of the chapter!  
**


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Always

**WARNING: This chapter contains a sexual encounter, please approach with caution. Not really, if you're reading this story then you probably are waiting for a sex scene so I hope it's adequate. Enjoy the chapter, this chapter is pretty much the last in the mid-season finale. From here, we go on to the end of the season!**

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Chapter Seventeen: Always

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I breathed in the last hit of my cigarette before tossing the filter into the ashtray, turning my attention back to the tv. I wasn't even sure what was on at this point but it didn't really matter, I wasn't focused on anything playing, my thoughts were with my brother. I kept wondering if he'd made it out okay, if he was on his way back to our family. Hopefully he would go to The Hilltop, I was sure that he would be safe there with Maggie and Sasha. It'd been hours since I'd slipped him the note and key, I hadn't heard anything on Dwight's radio about him escaping so I could only assume that he hadn't been caught. I was also hoping that Tina had made it out okay, I had no idea where she'd go but wherever it was, I'd be content knowing she was safe.

I looked over when I heard a soft groan come from Dwight, moving to my feet and crossed the floor to the armchair he was in. I knelt down next to it and took his hand, waiting for him to wake up fully. I wasn't sure if he would remember the argument we'd been in hours earlier but I would've preferred that he didn't, I didn't want that on his conscious. I knew that it would tear him apart if he remembered talking to me that way but if he did, then I'd just have to reassure him as best I could. I smiled a little when I saw his eyes flutter open, running my thumb over his hand lovingly.

"Hey sleepy." I giggled, squeezing his hand once. He chuckled softly, squeezing my hand in return and gave me a lopsided smile.

"Hey beautiful." he murmured. His free hand went to my cheek, brushing across it before tucking some of my hair behind my ear.

"Have a good nap?" I asked, he shook his head.

"I feel like I got hit by a fuckin truck." he complained, I rolled my eyes in amusement.

"Well you chugged a bottle of whiskey so I don't doubt it." I teased. I swallowed nervously when his eyes widened, he remembered our conversation.

"Darlin, fuck I'm so sorry." he said quickly. He tugged on my hand, forcing me to my feet before pulling me down into his lap. I moved my free hand to his cheek, looking him straight in the eyes and forced a smile.

"It's okay babe." I replied, trying to make my voice as reassuring as possible. "You were upset-"

"That doesn't excuse how I talked to you." he interrupted, moving his free hand through his hair. "Fuck, I feel like a jackass."

"Don't." I asked of him. "Please...I just don't want to talk about it."

As he looked at me, his eyes told me how sorry he was, I could see how worried he was, the remorse in his eyes was as clear as day. I wasn't sure if he remembered everything or just parts of it, but I wasn't going to ask. I just wanted to forget it ever happened, especially since the argument was _my_ fault to begin with. I lowered my eyes at the thought, unsure of what else I should say to defuse the situation. I wasn't good at dealing with the aftereffects of confrontation, I just never knew what words to say.

"Angel." I looked up through my lashes, my eyes meeting his blue ones. "I love you."

"I love you too D." I whispered.

"It's just...it's hard...looking like this." he admitted, I could hear how self conscious he sounded. He needed to know how I felt though, what I saw when I looked at him, maybe this could make things right with us.

"Babe." I moved my hand out of his and cupped the other side of his face, running my thumb over the scorched flesh. "This, doesn't matter to me. You're still sexy as hell." I giggled. He chuckled softly at that, leaning into my touch and I moved my other hand through his hair. "All this says to me, is that you're a fighter and you're not going down easy. When I look at you, I still see the same man that tied me up in the burned forest and got me all hot and bothered."

"Again with this hot and bothered thing?" he joked, I giggled quietly.

"Well yeah." I agreed, playing with a strand of his hair. "The first time I saw you I was like, 'damn, my thing for blonde guys is really gonna get me in trouble'. And look where I am now."

"Oh, your thing for blonde guys huh?" he teased, I felt my cheeks going warm.

"Well, uh...yeah." I mumbled. I needed to gain my confidence back fast, I didn't understand how he managed to get me flustered so easily. "So you know what I thought when I first saw you, what'd you think when you first saw me?" My face got hotter when he moved his arm around me, his hand moving up my back.

"You sure you wanna know?" he joked, I nodded in agreement. "Can your virgin ears handle it?"

"I'm no virgin dammit!" I jokingly raged.

"Good to know." he laughed.

"Really, tell me." I asked.

I genuinely was curious, especially since he'd still been married to Sherry when we met. I was sure he hadn't thought along the same lines as I had, so it just begged the question of what _had_ he been thinking when he saw me for the first time. I felt a smile come to my lips when he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead, looking down into my eyes.

"Well, there were a bunch of things going on in my head." he started, moving his hand to rest on my knee. "My first thought, was wondering if you were part of the Saviours because I'd never seen you before. My second thought, was that you looked tough as nails so I was hoping you wouldn't shoot me." I giggled softly at the memory but quieted down when he raised an eyebrow. "And my third thought, was that you were gorgeous as hell."

He stopped, his smile widening when he saw the blush on my face. I tilted my head to the side curiously when he looked away for a moment, wondering what he was thinking. I poked his cheek, trying to earn back his attention and his eyes finally moved back to mine. I could feel my face burning at the smirk on his lips, what was he thinking?

"And my final thought-"

"There's more?" I pressed, his smirk widened.

"I wondered if you'd let me fuck you senseless." I giggled quietly at his confession, trying my hardest not to show how embarrassed it made me and moved my fingers through his hair again.

"So I made you hot and bothered too?" I teased, trying to contain my giggles.

I gasped softly when he scooped me up in his arms without a word and moved to his feet, carrying me across the room to the couch. I tilted my head to the side when he gently set me down, moving to sit next to me. He looked so serious now, had I said something wrong, I'd thought our conversation had fixed things between us. Sure there'd been a bunch of joking about sex but it seemed like it'd been going well. Maybe I needed to ask him what was going on rather than just let it hang in the air.

"Dwight is-"

My eyes widened when his lips crashed down on mine, stopping my words mid-sentence, his fingers knotting in my hair. I moaned quietly, moving my lips back against his and grabbed onto the front of his shirt, scooting as close to him as I could possibly get. I could've pouted when he broke the kiss, his lips hovering over mine as he stared down into my eyes.

"I love you Angel."

"I love you too Dwight."

He roughly pressed his lips back against mine, kissing me just as forcefully as before. I moaned quietly, tangling my fingers in his hair. I felt his hand slip up my shirt, his fingers moving up my back. Without breaking the kiss, I scooted into his lap, moving my legs on either side of his hips. I grinded my hips down on his, kissing him harder and he slipped his free hand up the front of my shirt, roughly grabbing my breast. I moaned quietly against his lips, trying to remain in control of myself. I was so aroused though, the sexual tension between us had be built up for so long that I didn't think I had another day left in me.

He broke the kiss and moved to my neck, placing teasing kisses and love bites everywhere his lips touched. I gasped quietly when he slipped his hand under my bra, feeling slightly self-conscious as he ran a thumb over my nipple. I wiggled uncomfortably, trying not to think too much about it. Being only 90ish pounds, I was small everywhere, I was only in an A cup and that bothered me. I was nervous he'd lose attraction towards me, as stupid as it was the anxiety was real to me and I didn't think I could handle rejection from him. I hadn't thought about it before but now that I had, I was terrified.

I felt my heart skip when he lifted my shirt, pulling it over my head and tossed it in the floor. I felt my cheeks heat up, my heart pounded against my ribs as his eyes wandered over me.

"Fuck, you're so beautiful." He whispered, moving to place kisses on my neck.

"You...you don't think I'm..." I stopped when he looked up, staring into my eyes.

"I don't think you're what?" He pressed, sounding confused.

I lowered my eyes, not knowing if I could say it. I was nervous, more nervous than I'd ever been. Being with someone used to not be a big deal but this wasn't just someone, this was Dwight. The guy I loved, the man I was in love with, the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. How could I not be self-conscious?

"Darlin, you're beautiful, you're perfect." He said, I raised my eyes to his. "They're not too small if that's what you're worried about."

"I...yeah. I was...scared that you-"

"That I wouldn't think you were hot as fuck?" He said, chuckling quietly; I nodded a little. "Angel, you are everything I've ever wanted in a woman. I mean that."

His words melted my fears away and I was instantly aroused again,

wanting everything he could give me. I kissed him again, moving my fingers through his hair before grabbing hold of his shirt, pulling it over his head. He leaned forward, wrapping an arm around me and kissed his way down my neck. I moaned quietly, bumping my hips against his and almost giggled when he turned us, pushing me to lay back on the couch. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks when he took hold of my pants, unbuttoning them and began pulling them off. He threw them over his shoulder and turned back to me, staring down at me with a hungry look. I bit my lip nervously, watching as he slid his pants off and he climbed on top of me.

I pressed my lips against his, running my fingers up and down his back as he grabbed hold of my hips. I moaned quietly against his lips when he bumped his hips against me, trying to ignore how wet my panties were and almost gasped when I felt his length rub against my thigh. He broke the kiss and moved to kissing my neck, his free hand rubbing my breast through the material of my bra. I could feel my breathing getting heavier as his hand moved up my thigh, stopping a few centimeters from in between my legs. I wiggled a little, trying to get him to touch me. I groaned quietly when I felt him nibble on my earlobe, his hot breath in my ear.

"What darlin?" He teased, I moaned when he slipped his hand under my bra and squeezed my breast. "What do you want?"

"Please, touch me." I whispered, he chuckled quietly.

"I am." He played, I bit my lip. "Oh, you meant here."

I moaned again when I felt him slip his hand down my panties, sliding a finger inside me. I pressed my lips against his, moving an arm around his head and knotted my fingers in his hair. I gasped quietly when he pushed another finger in, moving them inside me. I kissed him harder, feeling overwhelmed with need. I wanted him inside me, I _needed_ it. I pouted against his lips when I felt him pull his fingers out of me and he pulled me to sit up. I was confused until he reached around me and I felt him unhook my bra, I felt my blush darken and slid it off. He pushed me to lay back down and hovered over me, looking me up and down.

"You are so beautiful." He murmured, I leaned up on my hands and kissed his cheek.

"You're beautiful too." I whispered, kissing my way to his neck.

I pressed my chest against his and bit down on his neck, sucking on the spot after. I heard a low moan come from his throat, his hips bumping against mine in approval. So he liked it rough? That gave me ideas, plenty to work with. I moved my hands around his shoulders as I bit down on his neck again, digging my nails into his skin. He groaned quietly, moving his face in the crook of my neck. Just one more push was all I needed. I took a breath and raked my nails down his back, he moaned louder and grinded his hips down on mine.

"Fuck." He grunted.

He pushed me, I fell back down on the couch and bit my lip when he ripped my panties off. I felt my breath hitch in my throat when he pushed off his boxers, moving my eyes to his so I wouldn't be staring. He was huge though, close to 8 inches, I'd never been with someone over 6. I leaned my head back when I felt his fingers slip inside me again, moaning in pleasure. He was kissing his way down my chest, roughly squeezing one of my breasts while his fingers moved inside me. I was in ecstasy, my body wanted release, I could feel it building up inside me. I groaned quietly when I felt him suck on one of my nipples, wanting more than anything for him to just fuck me senseless.

"Dwight." I gasped. "Please, I need-"

I moaned again, I couldn't get the words out. Between his fingers pumping inside me, his hand squeezing my breast and his mouth on my nipple, I couldn't think straight. I was getting close, I could feel my body clenching around his fingers. I whimpered quietly when he slipped his fingers out of me, moving his head up from my chest to my face. He pressed his lips against mine roughly, kissing me hard.

"Please." I managed to get out between kisses.

I gasped quietly when he nudged against my folds, slowly at first before burying himself deep inside me. I moaned quietly, tangling my fingers in his hair, wrapping my legs around his waist.

"Fuck, you feel so good." He grunted, pulling out and slamming back inside me.

"Dwight, fuck. I love you." I murmured, moaning again when he thrust deeper.

"God I love you too."

I groaned quietly, feeling lightheaded as he continued to thrust harder and deeper. I moved my hips in time with his thrusts, I was so close. I roughly pressed my lips against his, trying to hold back until he was ready. I moaned into his mouth when he hit a spot inside me that sent waves of ecstasy shooting through me, I needed release.

"Please, fuck, Dwight I-"

"Me too." He interrupted, I felt my body shaking the harder he thrusted. "Fuck, I'm gonna-"

I moaned loudly, finally finding release. My body was shaking as the ecstasy moved through me, I groaned quietly in pleasure, smiling to myself when Dwight collapsed on top of me. I moved my fingers through his hair, smiling again when he looked up at me. He pressed his lips against mine in a short kiss and turned us on our sides, I curled up in his arms.

"You're still inside me." I giggled, he chuckled a little.

"Yeah, I just wanted to enjoy it a little longer." He admitted, placing a kiss on my forehead. "You're fucking amazing."

"I feel that good?" I teased, he laughed heartily.

"I almost came the moment I was finally inside you." He said, playing with a strand of my hair. "I figured you'd like it to last longer than ten seconds."

"Yeah." I said softly, he placed a kiss on my nose. "I love you."

"And I love you Angel." He replied.

"Forever?" I pressed, he smiled.

"Always."

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 **Author's Note: Thank you for reading, please subscribe and review. The next part will continue until the end of season eight, which will be finished before season 8 premiers.**


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Traitor

Chapter Eighteen: Traitor

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"Pass me a smoke."

I watched as Dwight placed a cigarette between his lips, lighting it before passing it over to me. I smiled a little and inhaled deeply, exhaling the smoke. I watched quietly as it danced in the air, rising up towards the ceiling before slowly disappearing. I rolled over on my stomach and turned my head in his direction, my smile widening when he moved his hand to rest on the small of my back. I hummed softly in approval when his hand ran up my back, moving through the mess of blonde that was my hair.

"Tired yet?" he teased, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not a chance." I said easily, taking another hit off my cigarette. "Do you realize how long this sexual tension has been built up?" He chuckled quietly in agreement, knocking back the last of his drink before scooting closer to me.

"You're gonna wear me out darlin, three rounds and you're still ready to go." he joked, I giggled quietly.

"Well, if you can't keep up-"

I squealed quietly when he shoved my body to where I was lying on my back, his hands went to my wrists, his legs on either side of my hips. I bit down on my lower lip as I stared up at him, I was immediately aroused again...and I had a lit cigarette between my fingers, fuck.

"Babe, the cig-"

"Oh fuck."

He grabbed the dangling cigarette, managing to save the bed sheets in the nick of time. I giggled softly, watching as he sniped it out in the ashtray, his hand moving back to my wrist within seconds. I smiled a little when he leaned closer to me, pressing his lips against my neck. I groaned quietly when he bit down on my skin, bumping my hips against his.

"Dwight." I moaned softly when he bit down on the same spot, grinding his hips down on mine. "Please."

"Already?" he teased. I moaned again when he moved a hand from my wrist, roughly grabbing my breast.

"Fuck, yes." Another moan escaped me when I felt him push into me, I wrapped my free arm around his neck and pressed my lips against his. I pouted against his lip when I felt him pull out, gasping when he slammed back inside me. "Mmm, harder."

"Harder huh?" he teased, squeezing my breast. I pouted again when he pulled out, I couldn't believe he was teasing me like this. I pursed my lips when I saw the smirk on his face, wrapping my legs around his waist, trying to get him back inside me. Why was he teasing me like this? "You want it harder?" he pressed, I nodded in agreement.

"Yes."

"You gotta say it."

"Please babe." I begged, his smirk widened.

"You can do better than that."

He wanted me to tell him how much I needed him, that he was the only man I wanted, the only man that could make me feel good. As lame as it was, I would gladly do that for him. It was something he needed to hear since he'd been scarred by the iron, I knew it would help his self confidence so I would comply without complaints. I didn't want him to hate himself anymore, I wanted him to know how perfect he was in my eyes. If that meant being lame and cheesy during sex, then so be it. I bit down on my lip and glanced down before looking back up into his eyes.

"I need you." I murmured.

"Yeah?" he breathed, moving to place kisses on my neck.

"Only you." I agreed. My back arched when I felt his hot breath in my ear.

"Why?" he pressed, I felt his length nudge against me.

"You make me feel good, better than anyone else ever could." I moaned quietly when I felt the tip slip inside me, biting down on my lip. "You're the only man I want."

I could've gasped again when he roughly thrust the rest inside me, tightening my legs around his waist and bucking my hips. I didn't understand how a single person could feel so good but I wasn't going to question it, it was because we loved each other. I leaned up and pressed my lips to his, moaning into his mouth as he continued thrusting inside me. I was already so close, I could feel my muscles tightening around him and by the way he'd just groaned, I could tell he was too.

'Shit...is that Negan?'

Dwight instantly stopped at the sound of the knock, looking back over his shoulder.

"Yeah, one sec."

He turned his attention back to me, moving my legs from his waist and gently pulled out. I could've pouted at the interruption but it was better than being walked in on so I'd take it, I pressed my lips to his in a quick kiss before he moved off the bed and went about gathering his clothes up. I rolled off the bed, making my way across the floor to the couch, grabbing my panties. I quickly shimmied into my panties when I heard another loud knock, this one sounded more impatient than the first. It had to be Negan, I hadn't expected him to be back so quickly but I guessed there was no way around it. If that was him at the door, then I knew this conversation wasn't going to go well.

"I'm coming, hold on." Dwight hollered.

He threw his shirt on, now fully dressed and started towards the stairs. I grabbed my shirt, pulling it over my head and began pulling up my pants. I easily realized that didn't have the time for a bra when there was another loud bang on the door, I could feel my insides turning. I slipped into my combat boots, moving around the couch to turn off the tv. I'd admit that I was planning on eavesdropping, it was the only way that I ever knew what was going on in this place. I turned towards the stairs when I heard the door open, Dwight's voice coming to my ears.

"What's-"

My eyes widened when I heard a loud thud and I bolted across the room, watching in horror as Dwight rolled down the stairs into the floor. I quickly moved to his side, wanting to make sure that he wasn't injured but froze in place when I heard a voice call out my name. I looked up the stairs, swallowing nervously when I saw Negan leering at me from the top of the stairs, a couple of Saviours moving down the stairs towards me.

"Good to know you're still here Angel." Negan chortled, resting Lucille on his shoulder. I heard Dwight let out a low moan of pain from behind me, Negan could wait for all I cared, I had to make sure that he was alright. I turned my back on them and knelt down next to Dwight, moving some of his hair away from his face.

"D, are you okay?" I murmured, I placed my hand on his arm. "D."

"Ange..."

"Shhh." I hushed, rubbing his arm. "I'm here."

"Yeah, _you_ are." I looked back over my shoulder at Negan, he had a mix of amusement and anger on his face as he stared down the stairs at us. He knew, he _knew_ that Daryl was gone and that's why he was here, to get me to fess up to it. "It begs the question though, why are _you_ here?"

"I...don't understand." I said softly.

I had to pull out my mask again, sure Negan was manipulative and deceitful but he wasn't aware that I could be the same thing when the occasion called for it. I had to make sure I wasn't suspected, I had to stay strong and act oblivious to what had happened, otherwise...I'd more than likely end up on the fence. I focused on turning off all my emotions, watching the smirk rise to Negan's lips as he turned back in the direction of the door.

"Take her." He walked out. My eyes widened when the pair of Saviours strode forward, grabbing hold of both my arms and jerked me to my feet.

"No, Dwight!" They were halfway dragging me up the stairs even as I struggled against them, Dwight was trying to push himself to his feet.

"No." he croaked, trying to get closer to the stairs.

"Dwight!"

I was pulled out the door and into the hallway, one of the Saviours shoved me against a wall, pushing my body up against it. I flinched at the pain in my chest, managing to look through my disheveled hair to see Negan standing by the door to Dwight's room. He had the same shit eating grin on his face as he looked my way, Lucille still resting on his shoulder as he took a few steps closer to me. I could've spit in his face with the look he was giving me, cringing back when he brushed some of my hair away from my face.

"Now then." he started. "Where is he?" I blinked dumbly at the question, trying to look as confused as possible.

"Who?" Negan chuckled softly, taking hold of my chin.

"You know who sweetheart." he teased. Had this not been a life or death situation, I would've made a Harry Potter joke but this didn't seem like the best time to try and be funny. I swallowed the lump in my throat, keeping a blank look on my face as I stared up into Negan's eyes. "Daryl."

"In that cell you keep him locked in like an animal." I growled, the Saviour holding onto me shoved me harder against the wall. Negan raised an eyebrow, releasing his hold on my chin but held Lucille in front of my face.

"Wrong answer there sweetheart." I didn't think I'd ever heard him sound so deadly, he'd went from the joking maniac that he is, to sociopathic serial killer mode. Was this going to be my last day on earth? "Where is he?" he repeated slowly.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." I said quickly, trying not to stumble over my words. The Saviour behind me placed his free hand on the back of my head, pressing my face harder against the wall.

"Ah, Dwighty boy. Finally made it." Negan applauded, moving Lucille back to his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I couldn't turn my head to see his face but from the tone of his voice, he didn't sound happy with what Negan was doing to me.

"Why don't, you ask your little girlfriend what _she's_ been doing." Negan suggested, his voice was rising in volume. "Because when I got back, Fat Joey was dead and Daryl was _gone_." I forced my eyes to widen and struggled against the Saviour holding onto me, I had to make this believable as possible.

"I didn't do it!" I exclaimed. Negan turned his eyes back to me, the smirk on his lips widening.

"Now I find that, very hard to believe sweetheart." he drawled.

"Dwight, tell him." I begged, tears began rolling down my cheeks. "Tell him I didn't do it."

"Negan, she's-"

"Did I ask _you_?" Negan snapped, his eyes moved away from me in Dwight's direction. "You had one job and instead, you got pussy whipped."

"I didn't do it." I cried.

"Do I let this slide?" Negan asked, pointing Lucille in Dwight's direction. "Do I just let this go? When we have a _traitor_ in our midst?"

"Please I swear, I didn't do it." I repeated.

"Lock her up."

"NO!"

My body was ripped away from the wall, another pair of hands grabbing hold of my other arm, forcing me further down the hallway. I struggled against the pair of Saviours as hard as I could, kicking my feet and trying my hardest to pull away from them. I managed to look back over my shoulder, Dwight had got to a knee and was kneeling with his head bowed. Negan had Lucille dangling next to him in his hand and was leaned forward, looking as though he was whispering something to Dwight.

"I didn't do it!" I screamed.

I was pulled around a corner, forced into another hallway by my captives. I didn't even have the heart to struggle anymore, I knew where they were taking me and there was no escape from it. The cells were calling my name, hostage turned prisoner. I'd never thought this would happen to me while I was here, I'd always thought that Dwight would be able to protect me from it but I'd done this to myself. Saving my brother, meant I had to sacrifice the freedom that I had here and I would gladly do it again if it meant he was safe. The repercussions of my actions were brutal, I had seen what the cells had done to my brother so I knew what to expect. This wasn't going to be a walk in the park, more like walking through lava barefoot and surrounded by walkers. As afraid as I was, I knew that I'd done the right thing.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a loud click, looking up through my hair as I heard the screeching sound of the heavy door being pulled open. I swallowed the lump in my throat, staring into the small room before I was shoved through the doorway. I tripped over my feet and dropped face first on the floor, busting my cheek and lip in the process. I let out a low moan, I could taste the blood on my tongue as I pushed myself halfway up. I could hear the sound of the door moving, I had to get out of here. I tried to scramble to my feet to escape and turned my head back towards the light, the door slammed shut.

Darkness.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Just so everyone knows, this story is going to go all the way to the season finale of the walking dead show. Just thought I'd let everyone who enjoys this know how far I plan to go with it. And there may or may not be a sequel to it once I'm finished!  
**


	20. Chapter Nineteen Who Are You

Chapter Nineteen: Who Are You

* * *

I sat huddled in the corner of the cell, placing my forehead against my knees as I sat in the dark. I hadn't slept, I hadn't ate, I was cold and alone. I didn't know how long I'd been in this dark place. Minutes, hours, days? Time seemed out of my reach, I had nothing except my thoughts to keep me company. My thoughts were racing around in my head, bouncing from one to the next simultaneously. As afraid as I was, I knew that the decision I'd made had been worth it. Daryl was out, I'd saved my brother from this hell even though it'd meant taking his place. I knew what kind of treatment awaited me by taking his place but I couldn't go back, I wouldn't even if I had the chance. Family first, always.

I jumped when I heard a loud bang come from the other side of the door, moving my head from my knees. What was that? I swallowed the lump in my throat when I heard another loud bang come from the door, echoing throughout the small room before a voice came from the hallway.

"Cozy in there?"

'Negan.'

I narrowed my eyes at the question, not knowing if he wanted a response or if he just wanted to toy with me for a little bit. His constant games of cat and mouse were slowly but surely, getting on my last nerve. If he wanted to play then fine, but I refused to be the mouse forever. I wasn't going to be afraid anymore, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"I figured this was the perfect cell for you, since it was the last place I left your brother." Negan was saying. I leaned my head back against the wall, trying to remain in control of my emotions as he continued taunting me from the other side of the door. "Do you want to know, why I _thought_ it was you?"

'Thought?'

"I didn't do it." I said, my voice sounded hoarse.

"I figured you'd have left with him if you'd done it." Negan said, paying no mind to my comment. "But there you were, snuggled up with Dwighty boy. So what happened Angel, he just leave you behind? Weren't you worth saving?"

"My brother wouldn't do that." I said, trying not to snap; Negan chuckled.

"Doesn't look that way." he drawled. "Maybe he heard what you said to Simon."

I could feel my heart speed up in my chest at his words, _had_ Daryl heard what I'd said? I hadn't wanted to leave with my brother, I knew it wouldn't have been a safe move to make but Daryl always risked his safety for me. I had been surprised that he hadn't showed up at Dwight's room and forced me to come with him, did he think I didn't care about him anymore? I could feel myself sinking at the thought, I'd wanted to manipulate Simon into putting in a good word for me so I wouldn't be a suspect when Daryl escaped. But now, what if I'd just ruined the relationship I had with my brother? What if he hated me?

"That just blew me away." Negan laughed. "Suggesting that your own _brother_ get the iron. That's cold, ice cold." I bowed my head and wrapped my arms around my body, trying to keep myself from falling apart. "When he told me that, I was sure you hadn't let him out. But then, I found out one of my dear wives is missing."

I bit down on my lower lip, not knowing how to respond. Did he know that Tina had been involved in Daryl's escape? Was she still out there, was she safe? Were they out searching for her? Would she manage to stay out of their sight? What if they found her? Would Tina sell me out to save herself? I shook my head to myself, there was no way Tina would do that. She was smart, she knew the places to avoid and she wouldn't get caught. I believed in her.

"What?" I croaked.

"Oh, you didn't know?" he taunted. "My smoking hot wife Tina is gone and _you_ , were the last person to see her, according to one of my other wives."

"It's not like that." I said quickly.

"So what happened?" Negan pried, hitting the bat against the door.

I bit down on my lip, trying to hold it together as best I could. I was done for, he was going to put two and two together. He wasn't stupid, that red headed woman sold me out and now he was going to know the truth. He'd know that I asked Tina to help me get Daryl out and that she escaped after he did, what could I do? Should I just admit what I'd done and face the consequences of my actions? No, I couldn't do that. I was a Dixon and Dixon's never gave up, I would never admit defeat.

"I just...I needed something from her." I started, forcing myself not to stutter.

"Oh?" he pressed. "Do tell."

'Here goes nothing.'

"Condoms."

I held my breath, waiting silently for a response from Negan. The seconds seemed to tick by slower than normal, maybe I needed to prove it. I dug through the pocket of my pants and pulled out one of the packaged condoms, sliding it under the crack in the door. I heard a low chuckle come from Negan after a moment, did he believe me?

"As much as I wanted Tina to carry my child, her condition would've made it hard on her." Negan started, sounding amused. "Especially with the dead ones running around. These are _definitely_ hers."

I could breathe easily again knowing that he trusted me, my heart was finally beginning to calm down but what was going to happen to me now? Was there anything I could do to help my situation? Would he just leave me in this cell? Was I going to be stuck working from inside the fence for the remainder of my time here? So many questions were bolting around inside my head, so many thoughts, would I ever see my family or Dwight again? I had to do something, I had to cover my tracks somehow.

"I was with Dwight the whole time." I swore. "After I got those from Tina, I went back to his room."

"Huh." Negan grunted. "Well I guess you're right, what motive would _you_ have for helping one of my wives escape?" I didn't say anything, not knowing how to respond before Negan started talking again. "But Tina, love her heart, she _fucked_ up. She didn't think that I would know, that the good doctor let Daryl out as a diversion, so _she_ could escape. He drugged my guard and let Daryl go, all for her. _He_ helped her and that little thank you note she left for the good doctor proves it. So _you_ , my dear, are off the hook...for _now_."

There was a loud click, I heard a screeching sound and light slowly began filling the room. I shielded my eyes from the light as best I could, trying to get used to it as the door was pulled fully open. I placed my hand on the wall for support and moved out of my sitting position, trying to get feeling back into my legs and inched closer to the doorway. I swallowed the lump in my throat and peaked around the corner, my eyes moved to Negan who was leaning back against the wall, Lucille hanging at his side. There was a Saviour standing next to the door, holding it open for me.

"Let's take a walk sweetheart." Negan suggested, a wide grin on his lips. I nodded stiffly and moved out of the cell into the hallway, the door shut behind me with a loud bang. Negan swung his arm around my shoulders, pushing me to walk next to him as we head down the hallway. "You are damn lucky." he chuckled. "I was so sure it was you, until Dwighty boy found that note in Carson's office."

That's when it finally made sense. Tina had framed Doctor Carson, so I wouldn't take the fall for Daryl's escape. I didn't know how she'd managed to get all this accomplished when she was only in Doctor Carson's office for barely five minutes, but she had. She'd protected me from Negan, she'd kept me safe from the iron, she'd made sure that I wouldn't be locked away in a cell. If I ever managed to see her again, I'd have to thank her for everything she'd done for me.

"He did?" I repeated, Negan whistled softly as we turned a corner and began climbing some stairs.

"Damn straight, brought it straight to me and sure enough, it was my dear wife's handwriting." he agreed, sounding amused. "We'll be having a little get together down in the furnace room, if you know what I mean."

I could've shuddered at the thought, he was going to give Doctor Carson the iron. It bothered me, knowing that an innocent man was about to be mutilated for something I had done, someone that didn't have anything to do with the escape. I couldn't tell the truth though, as horrific as getting the iron was, I knew things would be worse off for me if Negan knew the truth. The iron was nothing compared to the psychological torture and constant beatings, nothing compared to being locked away like an animal. We exited the stairs and made it into another hallway, we walked halfway down it in silence. I rubbed my arm when we stopped next to a door, looking up at Negan through my lashes.

"Oh, you must be wondering where we are." he teased. "Well, after D found out the truth, I gave him a promotion. Part of that, was an upgraded room." I blinked dumbly, a better room? "Would you like to see it?"

I nodded hesitantly, watching as Negan turned the knob and pushed open the door. I moved out from under his arm, taking a few steps inside. It was definitely nicer than the dank room we'd been in before, it didn't look like we had a shower in here but there was mini fridge, I wondered if it worked. I surveyed the room, almost smiling when I saw we had a bigger bed in here. There was a nicer television with a dvd player and a stack of dvds next to it, a small table with chairs, a bookshelf with a couple of books already on it, a nice couch and armchair, there were so many things in this room. I turned around to face Negan, he shut the door behind him.

"Nice right?" he asked, I nodded a little. "It even has a closet." I watched as he plopped down in the armchair, setting Lucille on the table next to him. "So, before we head on down to the furnace, there's something we need to discuss." I blinked dumbly when his grin widened, what was he thinking?

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't sweetheart, you're not a Saviour after all." Negan chortled. "Well, not yet anyway. Look, I know how hard it can be to accept change." I nodded a little, unsure of where he was going with this. "It is damn hard, especially for you. Left here, all alone."

"I'm not alone." I stated. "I have D."

"That, is sure as shit true." Negan laughed. "We got off on the wrong foot in the beginning didn't we? I mean, seeing as I was just using you to get good ol Daryl to do what I wanted. But you, you stepped up all on your own, didn't you?"

I felt like he was just enjoying hearing himself talk, asking rhetorical questions like this. I knew he was going somewhere with this though, with the way his voice sounded, he was acting as if I'd impressed him somehow. I didn't know what I'd done but the best thing I could do, was just roll with it and take whatever compliments he gave me.

"I'll admit, when I first saw you, I thought you were just some hot woman." Negan continued, I tried to ignore the sexist comment. "I thought, maybe I can get this woman to marry me, be one of the wives." I ignored the urge to scoff as best I could, there was no well in hell I would ever consider marrying this bastard. "But _you,_ are resilient. I didn't have to put you in a cell for you to get with the program, you did that all on your own. I mean, shit. Holding a knife to that kid's throat, hard ass shit right there." I watched as he grabbed Lucille and moved up from the armchair, stopping right in front of me.

"I did what was necessary." I said simply.

"And _that_ , is _exactly_ what I need." Negan said, sounding pumped up. "Initiative is important to me, hustle is important to me. Are _you_ willing, to step up?"

I could feel my heart pounding as he stared down at me, I finally realized where he was going with this little speech of his, he was going to ask me to become a Saviour. As much as I didn't want to agree to it, I knew it was the only option I had. If I said no, then I'd more than likely be spending the rest of my days in a cell with no chance of escaping. At least this way, there could be an opportunity. I was the only person on the inside, other than Dwight. I could gather as much intel as possible, maybe get the information to Rick and the rest of the group so they could formulate a plan. Being on the inside could be a huge advantage for our group, the only downside, I didn't want them thinking that I'd betrayed them to save my own skin.

"Speak when you're spoken to." I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded in agreement.

"Yes."

"I don't extend this invitation often so I want you to realize what a damn _honor_ it is." Negan drawled. "I want you to understand, that I _need_ you." I blinked curiously, trying to appear as though I didn't understand what he meant. "Do you know, how hot it is to see a woman that's bad ass as fuck?"

"I, um-"

"And it's not just that sweetheart, I _know_ what you can do, I _know_ what you've done." he continued, I felt my heart racing again. "What was it that Dwight told me, killing an entire community of cannibals? _That_ is bad ass. I need that kind of commitment to a cause. All I need, is for you to answer one question for me."

'Here it comes.'

" _Who_ are _you_?"

As I stood there, staring up at Negan, I tried my hardest to remind myself that this was for the best. This was to keep my family safe, to make sure that once we fought Negan, that we would win. I didn't want to have to make this decision alone but I had quickly realized that it was the only way. In the beginning, I had begged Daryl to stop treating me like I child, I had made such a big deal about being an adult and wanting to be treated like one. I had finally got what I'd asked for. Now, I had to own up to what I'd so longed for. I parted my lips, saying the last words I ever thought I would say.

"I'm Negan."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. Between finals and life in general, I've been busy so I hope this was worth the wait.  
**


	21. Chapter Twenty: Aftermath

Chapter Twenty: Aftermath

* * *

 _I walked into the furnace room, walking side by side with Negan. I watched as everyone dropped to a knee to kneel, my eyes scanning the room for Dwight. I felt a small smile come to my lips when I saw him over by the furnace, instantly falling off my face when I noticed he were preparing the iron again. I stopped next to Negan, watching as he waved his hand and everyone moved back up to their feet. I held onto my arm as Negan took a few steps around the room, before he stopped and pointed Lucille up towards the stairs._

" _You are gonna wanna pay close attention to this." he stated. I moved my eyes to where he was pointing, my jaw almost dropping._

 _'Eugene...what is he doing here?'_

 _I swallowed the lump in my throat, almost jumping when Negan swung Lucille and hit Doctor Carson with it. He let out a cry of pain, dropping to his knees as he held his injured arm. Two Saviours pulled him to his feet, Carson made a few noises in despair before I could understand him._

" _No, no. I didn't do anything." he said quickly. Negan reached into his pocket before holding a piece of paper up in front of Carson's face, a serious expression in his eyes._

" _This little souvenir, was tucked away in your desk." he told him._

" _I don't know what that is." Carson stuttered, swaying on his feet._

 _Negan hit him again with Lucille, Carson doubled over in pain, managing to stay on his feet with the help of the Saviours holding his arms. Negan let out a short sigh before handing the bat to another Saviour, giving Carson a heated look. He moved across the room in my direction, stopping next to me and leaned down close to my face._

" _Angel, be a sweetheart and get those gloves for me." he asked of me. I quickly nodded and moved over to Dwight's side, taking the pair of gloves he offered me before returning to Negan, handing them over to him without a word. "You know doc, I would have never thought that this woman would be on my side." he commented, pulling on the gloves. "But she is, because she is smart. She knows who the winning side is, ain't that right Angel?"_

" _The Saviours." I responded, trying my hardest to keep a straight face._

" _Damn right." Negan agreed, a smirk coming to his lips. "I thought she was the traitor, the one who had covered for my sweet wife Tina. But, I was wrong, I made a mistake and I owned up to that like the stand up guy I am. And my little guardian Angel right here, has read the room and got the message. Sweetheart, tell the good doctor who you are for me."_

" _Negan."_

" _That is right!" Negan exclaimed, moving across the room to stand in front of Carson. "You left the door open and let my puppy out. For my wife! So she could get away, while everyone was running around, looking for Daryl, she had the chance to escape."_

" _I didn't, I didn't do it." Carson stuttered._

 _The look on Negan's face told me that he didn't believe a word, he was sure that the doctor had been the one. Tina had made sure of that, she'd framed him so I wouldn't be the one taking the heat...quite literally. I just needed to keep my mouth shut and try to live through this nightmare, it would be over soon enough. I bit down on my lower lip when Dwight pulled the hook the held the iron out of the furnace, moving over to Negan. Negan took the iron in hand, Dwight moved back towards the furnace without saying anything. His eyes found mine for a brief moment, I could see that he wanted to talk about everything once this was over, he wanted to make sure that I was okay and wanted to know what Negan had said to me. As much as I wanted to be next to him and tell him everything, now wasn't the time for any of that._

 _I turned my eyes away from him, looking in Carson's direction. He looked like he was about to have a panic attack, his body was shaking and he was letting out labored breathes as he stared at Negan. I lowered my eyes, wishing that I didn't have to watch what was about to take place but I knew I had no choice. This was my punishment for the choice I'd made, I had to watch an innocent man get half his face burned to a crisp. I inhaled slowly, exhaled quietly and looked back up when I heard Carson's voice._

" _Please, please, please. Don't burn me, please Jesus don't burn me." The Two Saviours behind Carson grabbed either side of him, holding him in place while Negan grabbed the front of his shirt, holding the iron close to his face as Carson continued begging._

" _Now, you know I hate this shit." Negan said calmly. "Tell me that you did it and you're sorry, and I don't have to do this."_

" _Yes, yes I did it." Carson was stumbling over his words, lying because it was all that could save him from the iron. "I did all of it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." Negan slowly moved the iron away from Carson's face, the doctor lowered his eyes as Negan stared him down._

" _That's all you had to say." Negan said, tossing the iron to the floor. "That is all you had to say." He turned, surveying everyone in the room and let out a deep sigh. My eyes widened when he grabbed hold of Doctor Carson's coat and hurled him forward into the furnace._

My eyes shot open and I gasped, my body jolting up from the bed. I could feel my body shaking at the dream, my clothes were drenched in sweat, why did I have to relive today's events in my sleep? Wait, where was Dwight, he wasn't next to me anymore. I looked around the room, panic rising in my chest when I couldn't find him.

"Dwight!" I cried out, tears slipping down my cheeks. "Dwight!"

"I'm here darlin, I'm here."

His arms were around me instantly, holding me close to him. I felt like an idiot now, he'd just been putting our clothes away in the closet and I'd almost had a panic attack. I gasped quietly, trying my hardest not to choke on the air as I calmed down. I leaned my head against his shoulder, hiding my face in the crook of his neck as he moved a hand through my hair.

"What happened, are you okay?" he murmured, I could've smiled when he placed a kiss into my hair.

"Nightmare." I mumbled, feeling all the more embarrassed.

"It's okay." he whispered. "I'm right here, you don't have to be afraid."

"How can't I be?" I asked, trying not to stumble over my words. I snuggled my head against his shoulder, shutting my eyes when his free hand began moving across my back to comfort me. "I just watched Doctor Carson get shoved into the furnace all over again. What if he does it again, who's next? You? Me? We're not safe here."

"I know Angel." he sighed, placing another kiss into my hair. "We can talk about everything in the morning, you need to sleep."

"I can't." I admitted. "I just...so much has happened."

"I know darlin." he whispered, his fingers were moving through my hair.

"And what's Eugene doing here?" I pressed. He didn't answer immediately, I finally opened my eyes when I'd counted to twenty, looking up at him through my lashes. "D?"

"Negan thinks he'd be valuable to us." he answered. I moved my hand up to his face, cupping his cheek. "He's smart, well read, Negan likes smart."

"He's a genius." I commented. Dwight moved his eyes to mine, brushing some of my hair away from my face.

"Why?" I blinked dumbly, not understanding what he was talking about. "Angel, there's no going back now." he whispered. My eyes were burning at his words, I knew that I couldn't go back, I'd known that since I'd set out on my mission to save my brother. Now that I was a Saviour, I had to bend to Negan's will. "I...I wanted to keep you from having to make that choice."

"I know D." I sighed. "But I couldn't say no...as much as I wanted to."

He bowed his head at my words, I could easily see he was blaming himself for my situation. He hadn't wanted me to become a Saviour, he wanted to keep me out of that life but there hadn't been any way to avoid it. I knew I would've wound up back in the cell if I'd said no and at least this way, there was a chance of escaping. I just had to bide my time and convince Dwight to leave with me, we could make our way to The Hilltop and hide out there. There _would_ be a war and once it got started, we could spring into action and help out the rest of my people. Take Negan out and free all the communities, the Saviours would be no more. I just hoped that when the time came, we would be ready.

"I wanted to keep you safe." he admitted, he moved his fingers from my hair to my cheek.

"You do." I whispered, trying to reassure him. "Every day that I'm here, you're the reason I'm still breathing." He smiled a little, looking unsure of himself as he stared into my eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too."

He pressed his lips against mine, my eyes slipped shut and I melted into the kiss, moving my lips back against his. I smiled into the kiss when he gently pushed me to lay back on the bed and moved my hand to the hem of his shirt, trying to tug it over his head. He broke the kiss and sat up, pulling off his shirt and tossed it somewhere in the floor, moving back to hover over me. I pushed myself up with my hands and leaned closer to him, pressing my lips against his neck. I heard a low moan come from his throat as I placed kisses down his neck, biting down on a spot that I knew would drive him crazy. He groaned quietly, grinding his hips down on mine before grabbing hold of my shirt, pulling it over my head.

He pushed me to lie flat on the bed, placing kisses down my neck and grabbed my breast, rubbing through the material of my bra. I moaned softly, arching my back and wrapped my arm around his neck, knotting my fingers in his hair when he bit down on my neck.

"Fuck, Dwight." He cut me off with a kiss, moving to pull my pants down my hips. I moaned quietly against his lips and moved my hand to his belt, trying to loosen it without looking while he threw my pants somewhere in the floor.

" _D, you awake yet?"_

Dwight pulled out of the kiss at the sound of the radio, giving me an apologetic look before climbing off me. I sighed quietly and turned over on my side, grabbing the pack of cigarettes off the nightstand. I watched him as he went over to the counter, picking up the radio and ran a hand through his hair.

"D here, what's going on?" he asked into the radio. I quickly lit a cigarette and turned over on my back, inhaling deeply.

" _Looks like we've got a grab and go. You want dibs?"_

Dwight turned his gaze to me, silently asking my permission before giving an answer. As much as I wanted to tell him to stay with me, I knew it wouldn't be a good idea considering I'd just made it out of the hot seat with Negan. He had certain duties and he couldn't slack off just because of me, he'd just been giving a promotion so I didn't want him losing it.

"It's fine babe, go." I told him, he nodded once.

"Yeah, I got it." He quickly attached the radio to his belt and scooped his shirt up from the floor, pulling it on and grabbed the crossbow. He slung it over his shoulder and came back to my side, pressing his lips against mine in a quick kiss. "I won't be long." he swore, I smiled weakly and tucked a lock of blonde behind his ear.

"Be careful." I asked of him, he pressed his lips against mine in another kiss.

"I promise."

We whispered quiet 'I love you's' before he head out of our bedroom, shutting the door behind him. I hit my cigarette again, watching the smoke rise up towards the ceiling. I couldn't even see any sunlight coming through the window so it had to be early, maybe it would be a good idea for me to go ahead and get a shower. I could even go down and get our breakfast so I could have it ready for when Dwight got back, it'd be nice for him to come home to a meal for once. I smiled a little at the thought and hit my cigarette again, wondering if I was going to be assigned any specific tasks around the Sanctuary.

It seemed like everyone had their part to do here and I knew that I wasn't an exception anymore, I was officially a Saviour now so I knew I would more than likely be assigned some kind of task or job around here. Until then though, it would be best to just enjoy the little freedom I had left, free time seemed hard to come by when you were always doing things to appease Negan. I groaned quietly and hit my cigarette again, trying not to lose my shit. I didn't want to work for that maniac but I knew I had no choice, I agreed to be a Saviour for the simple reason that I could have a chance to escape this way. I had a goal and I was going to do everything in my power to make it happen, if that meant having to kill off Saviours to escape then so be it. I wasn't going to give up, Dixon's never gave up, I _would_ escape.

Once I was out, I would _never_ step foot in this place again.

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 **Author's Note: So there's the furnace scene and a little more. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please tell me what you thought in the reviews and thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter Twenty One: Training

Chapter Twenty One: Training

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A loud bang echoed around the area, I watched silently as the body dropped to the ground, landing in a crumpled heap. I looked back over my shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the dropped jaws. Shit, what was with these people? It was like they'd never seen a woman that could make a perfect shot every time. I rolled my eyes as I turned my attention back to the road and raised my handgun, pulling the trigger. Another loud bang, leaving another walker body to drop in the road.

'Heh, there's another one.'

Without blinking, I pulled my hunting knife off my side and swiftly turned, jamming it into the skull of the approaching walker. I narrowed my eyes at the dead gaze it was giving me, pulling out my knife, the body dropped down into the road seconds later.

"Holy hell." I looked away from the body, Negan had the usual shit eating grin on his face as he stared me down. "You are a vision sweetheart." I blinked dumbly, not understanding where he was going with this. "That's what, 30 perfect shots?"

"33." I corrected, raising my gun and shooting another walker in the head with barely a glance.

"Damn." Negan grunted, the grin on his lips widening. "And to think we had this little treasure all along." I could've scoffed at his tone but I ignored it as best I could, heading in the direction of the other Saviours.

It had been a little over a week since I'd agreed to be a Saviour and today was the first day of my training to become a "proper" Saviour, Negan wanted to have an idea of what I could do. He had radioed Dwight earlier this morning, telling him to meet him out by the vehicles and to bring me with him. I'd been confused about what was going on, until we got out there and Negan explained what we would be doing for the day. Negan had gathered some of his most trusted Saviours to accompany us on this excursion, thankfully Dwight was one of them. We had headed out close to nine and after we had made it a good distance away from the Sanctuary, we'd stopped in a walker infested area. Then, Negan got on with the good stuff. The first thing he'd wanted me to do was prove how well I handled the dead and the second, if I was a decent shot. The joke was on him, I was a _perfect_ shot, I never missed a target.

From the time I was around five years old, Daryl had been my teacher and he had taught me _everything_ I knew. My brother was the best hunter I'd known my whole life and he'd wanted me to have the same knowledge, be able to fend for myself if the occasion called for it and never have to go hungry if I was out in the woods. I had a vast amount of knowledge about plants, which were edible and which were poisonous. I knew an assortment of different knots for fishing and how to string up all kinds of traps for animals, I even knew which traps were the best depending on the animal. I knew how to track my prey, I knew how the floor of the woods worked and I could read it without batting an eye.

By the time I was seven, I was an expert in the woods and then Daryl had decided to move on to the next phase, weapons. Daryl had taught me about knives and I'd been able to properly handle them by six years old, but this was the heavy stuff. My brother had made sure I was trained to use a crossbow and regular bow, he'd gotten ones that were my size every year when our training began until I was an expert in both.

Then came the guns, handing over a gun to a nine year old could be dangerous if they didn't know what they were doing but Daryl never let that happen. He'd told me stories about how people were stupid with guns and had shot their foot off and all kinds of other crazy stuff, he made sure I knew what I was getting myself into by handling one. Hearing that as a kid, it made me respect guns and want to know how to properly use one.

We started off small, I learned how to take one apart, put it back together, clean it, load and reload before he ever let me shoot one. The first gun I'd ever shot was a revolver, I remembered that day very clearly. Daryl had taken me to a shooting range and I'd missed every shot, which had pissed me off to no end. I had stomped around and pouted, ranted about not understanding how I could miss when I was a perfect shot with a bow. Daryl had just shaken his head the whole time and laughed at me, before telling me how shooting a gun was different then a bow. After a few different trips to the shooting range, I had slowly gotten better with the revolver until finally, I never missed a shot.

Then came in the various shotguns and rifles, all sorts of semi automatics, Daryl didn't let me cut corners on learning how to shoot any of the guns he could get ahold of. Each new gun was a challenge, learning how to properly care and shoot them but I caught on quickly. I slowly but surely, became his little prodigy and when I knew how to handle them all, Daryl finally took me on my first official hunting trip. I'd never done anything besides traps before, at eleven years old he figured I needed to know everything about hunting with a weapon. I learned everything from how to skin my killings to cooking them. I could still remember to this day how proud he was of me when I'd went through the entire process without help, I'd never be able to repay him for everything he'd taught me.

I holstered my handgun as I got closer, stopping when I'd made it next to Dwight. I was happy that he'd been allowed to give me my guns back, the ones that he'd taken from me during our first encounter, it was nice to have a piece of my past back. Hell, just having a weapon with me made me feel more like myself. Even before the walkers, I'd always had at least a knife on me.

"Can I have a rifle?" I asked, he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Darlin, a handgun and rifle are two completely different guns." he stated, I could've rolled my eyes at the obvious.

"I know that."

"Go on D, let her have one." Negan chortled, looking amused. "Let's see how she does." I turned my eyes to him, was he really questioning if I could handle a rifle?

"I don't miss." I told him, Negan's lips curved into a smirk.

"Is that so?" he asked, sounding even more amused.

"Never."

"Then let's see."

I took the sniper rifle Dwight offered me, resting it against my shoulder as I walked across the road to stand next to Negan. I could make out what looked like a group of fifteen walkers heading our way. I'd show him I didn't miss, and that I _never_ wasted a bullet. I tilted my head up to look at Negan, he was already eyeing me with the same amused look.

"Fifteen." I stated, shouldering the rifle. "I won't miss or shoot more than fifteen times, I guarantee they'll all be dead."

I could hear some quiet chuckles going on behind me from the other Saviours, they didn't think I could do it, they thought I was being cocky. That wasn't the case, I _knew_ what I could do and I _knew_ that I wouldn't miss. As much as I wanted to believe that Dwight knew I was telling the truth, I knew he doubted my abilities. He'd never really seen me shoot, other than our short encounter when he'd killed Denise with that group of Saviours, during that I hadn't been focused. I'd just have to prove what I could do.

"Alright sweetheart." Negan said. "If you can use only fifteen bullets, then I'll let you go on a pickup with Gavin's group."

I nodded once, I didn't know who Gavin's group was but I assumed he ran an outpost for Negan. I wasn't sure which community his group did pickups for but I guessed I would be finding out soon enough, hopefully Dwight would be going with me for my first run as a Saviour. I sighed softly as I stared down the approaching walkers, moving out of the road to one of the abandoned cars. I placed the rifle on the hood of the car, leaning over it while I looked through the scope.

'Shit, that's seventeen. Guess I'll just have to improvise.'

"Ready when you are sweetheart." Negan teased, I bit down on my lip.

'Concentrate.'

I inhaled slowly, finding my first target before exhaling, squeezing the trigger. A loud bang and a body dropped to the ground. One down, sixteen to go. The walkers were moving slowly across the road, I continued firing, hitting my mark every time until I had made it down to three bullets. Five walkers were left, it was time to pull out my skills. I stared through the scope, I had to get this right the first time. I held my breath, lining up my shot and squeezed the trigger.

"Holy shit!" Negan exclaimed, sounding pumped up.

My bullet had went clean through _three_ walker's heads, they all had dropped to the ground, leaving two dead ones staggering our way. If I could do this a second time, then I'd have beat Negan when it came to his bet of fifteen bullets. I exhaled slowly as I followed the walkers with the scope, now. Another loud bang, both bodies dropped into the road like rag dolls, another perfect shot.

"Hot diggity dog." Negan laughed.

I pushed myself up from the car, looking in his direction. All the Saviours looked shocked that I'd managed to do what I said I could, including Dwight. Negan on the other hand, he was definitely impressed by what I'd done, the smirk on his face practically screamed it.

"How in the holy _fuck_ , did you manage that sweetheart?"

"I don't miss." I said easily. I moved the rifle off the car, heading back into the road to hand over the gun to Dwight. I stopped when Negan placed a hand on my shoulder, looking down into my eyes.

"You, my dear, are more bad ass then I _thought_." Negan said slowly, his smirk widening. "You did all _that_ , in fifteen shots."

"Fourteen." I corrected.

"That is _right_." Negan agreed, placing Lucille on his shoulder. " _Fourteen_ shots, how in the fuck, did you manage that?"

"I had a good teacher." I responded, sounding monotone.

"Daryl right?" he guessed, I nodded stiffly. "Damn, this must be hard on you." I blinked dumbly when he squeezed my shoulder, his eyes were boring into mine. "Just knowing that he abandoned you, left you at _my_ mercy. That _must_ be hard."

I wasn't sure what he was getting at with this, why he was saying these things to me. Was he trying to gauge my reactions, was this some kind of test? Did he want to see if I would still be loyal to my brother if I had the chance or if I was loyal to the cause of the Saviours? I focused on turning off my emotions, gathering my thoughts, I had to know what to respond with.

"I am _so_ sorry, that he betrayed you." Negan continued, a wide smile on his lips.

"I'm not." I replied. "I hope he's dead."

"Phew. That is _cold_ sweetheart." Negan exclaimed, sounding even more amused. "I love it. You are going to make a fine Saviour." I didn't say anything, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to respond to that, did he even want me to respond? "Dwight, what's wrong with you? Put this gun up, don't make your girl hold that heavy ass thing all day." Dwight immediately responded to Negan's order, coming to my side and taking the gun from my hands.

"I can do it." I stated, trying to take the gun back from him.

"Now that's not right." Negan sighed, I almost cringed when he squeezed my shoulder. "Sweetheart, your man right there is supposed to be taking care of _you_. You don't have to do shit all by yourself, ain't that right Dwight?"

"Yeah." Dwight agreed. "I got it darlin."

I felt a small smile come to my lips when he placed a kiss into my hair before heading back to the vehicles to put the gun away. I turned my attention to Negan when he swung an arm around my shoulders, forcing me to walk next to him. He swung Lucille next to him as we walked, whistling quietly to himself before looking down at me.

"You know, I think this is gonna work out." Negan commented. "You know, D's one of my top guys and I'm sure he can help you become one too. So I think, I'll let him go with you for Gavin's pickup."

"Thank you." I said quietly, his arm tightened around my shoulders.

"No, thank _you_ , my little guardian Angel." he replied, chuckling softly. "He's got more motivation with you here, gotta keep that up right?"

I nodded in agreement, watching as the rest of the Saviours moved to follow behind us to the trucks and bikes. Were we already done for the day? I'd been enjoying being out of the Sanctuary, seeing the outside world for the first time in a while, I hoped this would be happening more often for me. I blinked curiously when Negan slowed his pace, allowing the other Saviours to walk passed us. Dwight found my eyes from my bike, looking confused when Negan stopped us in our tracks. I turned my attention to Negan, wondering what the hold up was.

"Angel, I wanna ask you something." he started, I nodded a little. "How would you feel, if I told you that you could be D's wife?"

I blinked dumbly, holding my mouth shut so I didn't look like a gaping fish, I was in total shock. Had he just said what I thought? Did he want me to _marry_ Dwight? Was he _asking_ me if I wanted to marry him? Was this just another test of his, some kind of question to toy with me so he could get more information? What was his angle?

"I mean, obviously he didn't do very well with the first one he had so I can understand why you'd be hesitant." Negan said, sounding amused. "I mean _shit_ , he let her get killed by those dead pricks so I could _definitely_ understand why you would say no."

I tightened my lips into a thin line, trying to keep my mouth shut. Sherry's death hadn't been Dwight's fault, it'd been her own for being careless. I couldn't very well say that though, Negan didn't know that was when Dwight and I had met and I couldn't put us in jeopardy like that. Our situation was complicated, we were already on thin ice so I had to protect us as best I could. If Negan knew the truth, I didn't want to know what would happen to us.

"So what do you say Angel?" Negan's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, I found his eyes on me. "Do you want to marry D?"

"I um...I don't know how he feels." I lied, trying not to stumble over my words.

"The hell with how he feels." Negan exclaimed. "I'm asking _you_ , not him."

The idea of being able to marry Dwight had my heart soaring, I was so in love with him that I would've said yes in a heartbeat, if _he'd_ been the one to ask me. But this was Negan, and he always had some type of motive but I had no idea what his motive could be by asking me this. Was he just trying to see how loyal I would be to what he wanted? Was he trying to make sure that I would be trapped here by letting me marry Dwight? Was he trying to manipulate me somehow?

"How about this, I'll give you a little while to think it over and then you can give me an answer." Negan suggested with a grin, I nodded a little in agreement. "Alright, let's go home."

I quickly moved out from under his arm and made my way to Dwight, wrapping my arms around his torso. I leaned my cheek against his chest, sighing contently when his arms went around me, a kiss was placed into my hair. I didn't know if I should tell him what Negan had asked me, if I should wait it out and see if he asked Dwight the same question. I didn't know how long a 'little while' was though, this was a conversation to have back at home.

"Can I drive?" I asked, tilting my head up and finding Dwight's blue eyes. He chuckled softly and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Whatever you want darlin."

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 **Author's Note: I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter!**


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two: Drifters

**WARNING: ATTEMPTED RAPE/INCEST/ASSAULT. This chapter is solely for the purpose of adding some back story and to explain why the Dixon's were drifters at the start of the walkers. This chapter isn't required for you to understand what will happen in the next chapter and the rest of the story.**

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Chapter Twenty Two: Drifters

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" _ANGEL!"_

 _I looked away from the tv at the sound of my father's voice, almost groaning at my luck. From the way he'd yelled my name, he sounded drunk and we most certainly had company when he was drunk. I guessed I'd have to be grownup and deal with this since Merle and Daryl were out. I sighed softly and moved up from my bed and grabbed a cigarette off my nightstand, lighting it. I took a few puffs before heading out of my room, making my way through the house in the direction of the living room._

" _ANGEL!"_

 _I couldn't hold it in, I let out a soft groan of annoyance, why was my dad so obnoxious sounding when he was drunk? I entered the living room, not surprised when I saw at least four men in there I didn't know, dad liked entertaining his friends. It took a second for him to realize I was in there, he was talking about some stripper he'd fucked last week and all his friends seemed entertained by his story, it took one of his friends pointing me out for him to notice._

" _There you are baby girl." I almost scoffed, he was only ever nice to me when he was drunk._

" _Yes daddy?" I asked, forcing myself to sound sweet._

" _You all remember my youngest kid right?" he said, talking to his friends. "My sweet little Angel."_

" _Haven't seen you since you were four kiddo." one of the men commented._

" _Yeah, I'm fourteen." I responded, trying to be polite. "Did you need something daddy?"_

" _Your brothers are out." he told me, slightly slurring his words. "Be a good girl and go get your daddy that bottle of whiskey in the freezer."_

 _I easily recognized that he'd already been through a whole bottle here at home and he'd more than likely drank another bottle worth at the bar. I knew that if my brothers were here, they'd tell him no and to go to bed before he started puking all over the house. I didn't have that luxury though, I was all alone here and I knew what would happen to me if I didn't abide to his wishes. I nodded my head, not saying anything when he took the cigarette from between my fingers and made my way to the kitchen. I opened up the freezer, grabbing the bottle of Jack, trying to listen in on the conversation in the other room._

" _Can't believe how much your little girl has grown up."_

" _It goes by fast."_

 _'How would you know? You're only around when you're drunk.'_

" _Looks just like Candy."_

" _Doesn't look like either of your boys."_

" _My little Angel got lucky there, got her mom's genes. Already a heart breaker."_

 _I didn't have luxury of dating, the last guy I'd brought to the house had the shit beat out of him. We'd been working on a project for our history class, my dad had beat the shit out of him for handing me a index card. I knew better than to ever bring anyone back here._

" _Don't know how you do it man, teenage girls are a handful."_

 _'Not when you're beating them.'_

" _She's a good girl, knows her place."_

 _'Just how to hide the bruises daddy.'_

" _Never causes any problems."_

 _'Not since the last CPS visit when you broke my arm.'_

" _I don't know how I could focus with a hot ass like that in my house."_

 _'Fuck.'_

" _ANGEL!"_

 _I bowed my head and shut the freezer, heading out of the kitchen to the living room. I forced a smile on my face, handing over the bottle of whiskey to my father. I hoped my brothers would be back soon, at least one of them, they were the only protection I had against him. With how things were looking, these men were just as fucked up as he was._

" _Thanks baby girl."_

" _You're welcome daddy." I said sweetly, trying my hardest to ignore all the eyes on me. "Do you need anything else? I have a report to finish."_

" _Do it later." he slurred. "Come sit with your old man."_

 _I knew it was a bad idea, sitting with him while he was drunk off his ass wasn't a smart move to make but hiding a bruised cheek was nearly impossible, I didn't need any more teachers asking me how my home life was. I took a seat on the couch next to him, trying my hardest not to cringe when he threw his arm around my shoulders._

" _Tell us about school Angel." he ordered, I nodded weakly._

" _Um, I got second place in the science fair last week." I mumbled._

" _Shit, you got a smart kid."_

" _I never even placed in that fuckin shit."_

" _When are report cards coming out, feel like it's been a while."_

 _'I've been forging your signature for years.'_

" _Three weeks, midterm ones said I had a 3.8."_

" _Just like your mother, smart as hell."_

 _I didn't say anything, I wasn't sure if I should. I just hoped that Merle or Daryl would be home soon, Daryl had went out to get some groceries, Merle had been on some bender for two weeks. I hated being here alone, without one of them watching my back, things were always bad for me when I was alone. I sat quietly next to my father for maybe half an hour, trying to hold myself together through the crude conversations before I finally decided it might be safe to excuse myself._

" _Damn, I'm starving. You wanna get a burger man?"_

" _Hell yeah, see you guys later."_

 _Two of the men left after saying their goodbyes. I could tell the others were drunk as fuck, half the bottle of whiskey was gone. I needed to disappear before my father started getting violent, he always got that way on whiskey. My body flinched when his arm tightened around my shoulders, I took that as a sign that I needed to go back to my room._

" _Daddy, I really need to finish my report so-"_

" _Don't be like that." he interrupted. "We have company."_

" _Maybe I can help." I blinked dumbly, this guy probably couldn't tie his shoelaces at this point and he thought he could help me with a report. Seriously? "What's your report on?"_

" _Concentration camps." I lied._

" _Fuckin Hitler." the other man exclaimed. "He had the right idea, getting rid of all the niggers."_

" _Damn right." my father laughed. "Right Angel?"_

" _Yeah, sure." I mumbled._

" _What'd I tell ya? She's a good girl." he exclaimed, slapping a hand on his knee. "Angel, honey. You're just like your mama. Smart and sexy."_

" _Thanks daddy."_

" _Looks just like her, doesn't she?"_

 _I tried my best to ignore the comments directed at me, I had to find a way to get out of this situation, I was starting to feel uncomfortable. I'd never known my father to act this way when he was drunk, he never talked about my mother but it seemed like this conversation centered around her. He had compared me to her multiple times already, what was going through his head? I cringed when he moved his free hand to my knee, slowly dragging it up my leg._

 _'Fuck.'_

 _I jumped to my feet, I had to get out of here...I never got the chance. A hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me down onto the couch, a different pair of hands pressing down on my shoulders, pinning me down. Not this, no. I struggled against the hands as best I could, crying out when I felt my the button of my jeans pop open. My jeans were ripped down my legs, I kicked my feet, trying my hardest to get them to back off._

" _Daddy no."_

" _Shut up."_

 _His hand was over my mouth within a second, I could barely breathe, I couldn't get him off me. Why were these people helping him, he was going to rape me and they were completely fine with that. I cried out softly, a muffled sound, no one could save me from this._

" _Be a good girl for daddy."_

 _I screamed, the sound coming out muffled again from his hand over my mouth. I could feel his hard on against my thigh, his free hand slipping down my panties. I felt tears roll down my cheeks, screaming behind his hand when his fingers slipped inside me._

 _'Help me.'_

" _MOTHER FUCKER!"_

 _I scrambled backwards when my father was pulled off me, relief washing over me when I saw Merle. I flinched against the cushions when I saw the blood soak through his shirt, Merle continued stabbing him repeatedly with his pocket knife. I turned my head when I heard a yell of pain, Daryl was choking out one of the other men, it looked as though the third was unconscious._

" _FUCK YOU!"_

" _PIECE OF SHIT!"_

 _Merle continued stabbing him until he stopping moving, there was blood everywhere. I wrapped my arms around my body, hugging myself to try to hold myself together. Was he dead? He wasn't moving. I felt more tears rolling down my cheeks, trying to control my sobbing. My father had tried to rape me..._

" _Angel." I cried softly, moving into Daryl's embrace, not knowing what to do with myself. "Are you okay?"_

" _He-he..." I couldn't get the words out, I cried harder._

" _We gotta go." Daryl stated. I'd never heard him sound so serious but I knew he was right, there were at least two dead bodies here, we had to go. "Merle!"_

" _You're right little brother." he agreed. "Let's get goin."_

" _Come on Angel."_

 _I nodded against Daryl's shoulder, moving to my feet and managing to pull my pants back up. I was shaking, I felt like I was going to pass out at the sight of all the blood. I leaned against him for support, crying softly when he scooped me up into his arms._

" _I got ya." he assured. "I'll never let nothin happen to ya."_

" _We're gotta go. Now." Merle ushered. Daryl moved across the room to Merle's side, carrying me without complaints. I looked up through my bangs, finding Merle's eyes. "We keep movin, never stop for too long." I nodded in agreement, relaxing into Daryl's arms._

 _I knew, as long as I had him, I would always be safe._

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 **Author's Note: Let me know what you thought in the reviews, I tried to make sure to keep Merle in character as best I could. _  
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	24. Chapter Twenty-Three: Territorial

Chapter Twenty Three: Territorial

* * *

'Who does she think she is?'

I narrowed my eyes angrily, watching the blonde female punch his arm playfully, laughing quietly at something he'd said. Who the _fuck_ did this bitch think she was? That was my guy, _mine_. I wondered how long it would take for the other Saviours to catch me if I just went ahead and ended her life, it'd only take one bullet after all. I ran my thumb across my handgun, trying to talk myself down as I stared at Dwight and the blonde woman. I couldn't shoot her, I knew that wasn't a smart move to make. I was already being watched and expected to be on my best behavior, but I was territorial as fuck right now. Didn't she know that he was taken? That he was _my_ man? I pursed my lips at the thought, I'd just have to mark my territory.

"If I'm at liberty to say..." I turned my head in the direction of Eugene's voice, watching as he chomped down on the pickle in his hand. "You look quite flustered in this moment."

"I'm fine." I mumbled, trying to hold in my anger. I turned my gaze back towards Dwight, squeezing the railing tightly when the woman patted his shoulder. She _needed_ to back off before I made her.

"You appear to be uncomfortable." Eugene commented. "Is it because of Laura?"

"Laura." I repeated, so that must've been that blonde bitch's name.

"She's the blonde female talking with your significant other right there." Eugene never could catch a hint, I wasn't an idiot but he just had that little fantasy that he needed to explain every little thing said or going on around him.

"Yeah." I said simply.

"I can introduce you if you wish." he continued. "She's quite the-"

"No thanks." I interrupted, glaring darkly in her direction. "I can do it myself."

I pushed myself off the railing and moved around Eugene, stomping across the walkway and down the stairs. Oh, I didn't need someone to introduce me, that was for damn sure. If she wanted to try and move in on _my_ territory, then I'd make sure she knew who I was, make sure she knew _who_ she was messing with. I growled softly to myself when I'd made it out into the parking lot, not caring if everyone could tell how pissed off I was. I could see the amused looks on some of the men's faces as I walked, a couple of them whispering among themselves about me. I didn't care, fuck them. I stalked across the blacktop, heading in the direction of _my_ man and the _slut_. I clenched my fist as I drew closer, ready to swing it her way once I was within arms reach.

'I hope you like the taste of blood bitch.'

I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard a soft whistling coming from behind me, shit. Not now, why did Negan have to pop up at the worst times? I could've groaned at my luck but turned on my heel to face him, here came the kneeling. It was already happening all around me, I needed to get with the program. I swiftly moved down on a knee, kneeling with my head bowed until I could see Negan stop right in front of me.

"As you were." His voice boomed, I quickly moved to my feet and raised my eyes to meet his. "Why hello my little guardian Angel."

"Good morning." I replied, trying to sound sweet.

"Where's that _maybe_ future husband of yours?" he teased, I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I hadn't told Dwight what Negan had asked me, if I wanted to marry Dwight. It'd been a week and I still didn't know how to bring it up. I wasn't sure if Negan had planned to ask Dwight, nor what his answer to that question would be but I'd made my decision an hour after Negan had asked me. My answer was yes, I wanted to marry Dwight. I was more than just willing, I loved him with all my heart and wanted to spend the rest of my life by his side. I wanted to take care of him in every way I could and be his biggest supporter in life, I just wasn't sure if he wanted to marry _me_ yet.

We'd talked about our future before, what we wanted for our lives and one of the things was being out of this hell, together. We'd talked about if we'd ever want to have children, which was a yes on both sides. We wanted our own little house with maybe three children, we wanted to be in a beautiful community that was safe from the walkers. This was all the lame fairy-tale stuff, we were both hopeless romantics and enjoyed the idea of a perfect life. We knew it wasn't possible though, with the world we lived in now, having children was the most dangerous thing a couple could do. Through all the things we'd talked about, marriage had never come up, not even once. I didn't know if it was supposed to be implied because we always talked about doing things together, always being together, but the word marry had never once come up.

"Dwight!" Negan's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, Dwight was jogging over to us, Laura had walked off to go back inside.

'Next time, _bitch_.'

"There you are, good hustle." Negan laughed, moving Lucille to rest on his shoulder. Dwight stood next to me, I took his hand, lacing my fingers through his. "Today is the _day_ , so you two lovebirds need to head out to Gavin's outpost."

"We will." Dwight agreed. "Let's go Angel."

I nodded a little when he squeezed my hand and followed next to him, walking in the direction that would get us to the vehicles. I felt a smile come to my lips when he pressed a kiss into my hair as we walked, it felt like my stomach had turned into a butterfly exhibit. How did he manage to make me feel this way? So at ease and a nervous wreck all at the same time, was this what it felt like to love someone this way?

"Don't be nervous." he said easily, I tilted my head to look up at him. Was he reading my mind now too? "These usually go smoothly."

'Oh, he's talking about my first run.'

"What exactly are we doing?" I questioned, leaning my head against his shoulder.

"A pickup." he teased, I giggled softly.

"What kind?" I joked.

We stopped next to my bike, Dwight pulled it out of line, away from the others. I swung my leg over my bike, straddling it as I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, Dwight moved to sit in front of me. I was thankful he was going with me for this trip, I didn't want to imagine what it would be like having to deal with one of the other Saviours.

"More than likely food. Negan usually likes to start new Saviours off with the easier runs." he explained, putting the key in the ignition. "So pretty much all that we'll be doing is meeting a community, taking their offering and heading back. Easy stuff."

"Sounds good to me." I agreed, feeling relieved that I wouldn't be doing a repeat of Alexandria.

Dwight started up my bike, revving the engine and I scooted up to where my chest was pressed against his back. I wrapped my arms around him, giggling quietly when he turned back and kissed my cheek before giving the bike some gas. We sped off out of the Sanctuary, heading off in some direction I'd never been. The drive was silent for the most part, I was enjoying taking in all my surroundings and being out of the Sanctuary, this was the second time I'd been free. I blinked curiously when Dwight began slowing the bike down, his hand brushing past mine to his radio, had he heard something? He stopped the bike in the middle of the road, moving the radio to his lips.

"Say again?" he spoke into the radio.

" _Go ahead and just meet us at the location."_ a static voice came through. _"It's almost time for us to meet them."_

"Sure thing Gavin." Dwight said. "Be there in fifteen." Dwight moved the radio back to his belt, giving the bike some gas and speeding back down the road.

"We're not late are we?" I asked loudly, he shook his head.

"We're fine darlin, don't worry." he responded. Just like Dwight had predicted, it only took a fifteen minute drive, we finally pulled off into a parking lot and he shut off the bike. "This is it." He moved off the bike and took a few steps away from the bike, surveying the area. I hopped off as well, pulling a cigarette out of my pack and lighting it. "Gavin's group should be here soon Ange."

"Where are we?" I asked curiously, taking a hit off my smoke.

"This community is called The Kingdom." I blinked dumbly, The Kingdom? What kind of a name was that? "We don't go inside their walls, we always just meet them here for deliveries."

"Why not?" I pressed.

I smiled a little when Dwight put an arm around my waist, placing a kiss to my forehead. I kissed his cheek in return, moving my cigarette to his lips so he could take a hit with my free arm wrapped around his neck. I watched him with a smile as he breathed in, exhaling slowly before pressing his lips against mine in a quick kiss. I pouted when he pulled away, feeling slightly worried because of the limited contact. Was he getting tired of me? Is that why he was talking to Laura? Didn't he love me anymore? I had to remind him, show him how much he meant to me and then maybe, he wouldn't leave me.

I roughly pressed my lips back against his, pushing my body against his. I managed to sneak my tongue inside his mouth, rubbing it against his. I heard a low moan of approval come from his throat before he moved his lips back against mine, one of his hands moving up my back to my hair. I groaned quietly when his tongue rubbed against mine, his free hand kneading one of my hips. I gasped when he roughly grabbed a handful of my hair, tilting my head back and bit down on my neck.

"Fuck, Dwight." His hand moved from my hip, slipping up the front of my shirt and grabbing my breast.

"Do you love me?" His hot breath was in my ear, his voice coming out as a low growl and it was sexy as fuck, I could feel how wet my panties were. "Do you?" I gasped again when he bit down on that same spot, sucking on it.

"Fuck, yes. I love you." I managed to get out. I could barely think straight, his hand wasn't even down my pants and I was almost over the edge. As much as I wanted him to fuck me senseless right now, I needed to know the truth, if he still loved me. "Dwight, do you love me?" He moved away from my neck, I opened my eyes to see him staring down into mine.

"Of course darlin." he whispered.

'Why didn't he say it?'

"Say it." I demanded. He blinked, looking confused by my tone of voice and released his hold on me, taking my hand in his.

"I love you Angel."

"Then why were you letting that girl flirt with you?" I snapped, growing all the more frustrated.

"You mean Laura?" he guessed, sounding confused. "She's a friend."

"She was _flirting_ with you." I growled, he sighed quietly. "Are you going to leave me? Is that what this is? Because I became a Saviour without asking you first! Because I wanted to protect us! Protect _you_!"

"Darlin no, I'm not leaving you." he assured, squeezing my hand. "I love you, I just...I was asking Laura for a favor."

"What?"

"I can't tell you." I pursed my lips, that wasn't a good answer. "Angel, I'm not _allowed_ to tell you."

I blinked dumbly, not allowed, so that meant it had something to do with Negan. Negan had said something to him and swore him to secrecy, he couldn't tell me because if Negan found out, I didn't want to know what would happen to Dwight. I felt like a mega bitch now, I'd accused him of wanting to leave me and not loving me anymore. Fuck, what was wrong with me?

"Babe...I'm-"

"It's okay Ange." he whispered, placing a kiss into my hair. I smiled when he placed another kiss to my nose, rubbing my nose against his affectionately. "You should finish your smoke, I can hear the trucks." I nodded a little and moved my hand to my face, I'd wasted half a cigarette, fuck. I placed it between my lips, breathing in the smoke and squeezed his hand as we stared out at the road.

"Do I need to act a certain way?" I asked, he shook his head.

"You're _mine_ , I don't want any of them getting ideas."

I felt my cheeks go warm at his protective tone, making a mental note to never doubt his feelings for me again. My stomach did a flip when he released my hand, his arm slipping around my back with his hand resting on my hip. Possessive and territorial were hot as fuck in my book, I wanted the world to know I was his. I stood up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, turning my attention back to the road when I heard the roaring of trucks.

'They're here.'

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry it took forever to update but I hope it was worth the wait :)  
**


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four: The Pickup

Chapter Twenty Four: The Pickup

* * *

'The fuck is this idiot doing?'

I rolled my eyes, watching the Saviour known as Jared twirl around a staff, looking like a complete and total moron since he had no real idea what he was doing. He seriously looked like one of those kids pretending to be a Jedi, like for real? Was this really all it took to be a Saviour?

"Huh, they're late." Gavin commented, looking at his watch. Dwight squeezed my hand, I took that as a sign to show initiative.

"Is that bad?" I asked curiously, Gavin turned his eyes to me.

"First thing you'll learn Angel, time is important." he stated. "If you get to lead a group of your own, you'll need to know that there are no excuses for being late."

"Don't things come up though?" I questioned, Gavin shook his head.

"We do not accept excuses, punctuality and precision are important." he explained, I tilted my head to the side curiously.

"Precision for what?"

Gavin didn't respond, turning his head to face the truck that was coming into view. I guessed I would be learning more about what he meant, example seemed to be the way the Saviours liked to teach. The other Saviours gathered together beside us as the truck grew closer, I was standing in between Gavin and Dwight when it finally parked and the engine was cut. A group of people wearing some form of riot gear jumped out of the back of the truck, a man with dreadlocks seemed to be the leader of this group. My eyes widened at the sight of Morgan, what was he doing here? Was he part of this community now? Our eyes only met for a brief second before Gavin took a step forward.

"You're late." Gavin stated, sounding frustrated.

"If you could indulge us your pardon, our path-"

"Eh, I don't want to hear about it." Gavin said, interrupting the man with dreadlocks.

'He talks so proper.'

"Don't interrupt the king." the man next to the dreadlocks guy ordered.

'King?'

Gavin gave him an exasperated look, as though he'd heard that more than a few times. Jared took the staff in hand, hitting the man over the head with it. He let out a cry of pain, dropping to his knees. Jared bent down, watching the other man as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Rat faced prick."

I turned my eyes to the youngest boy in the group, he was standing next to Morgan and had a staff in his hand. I assumed that Morgan had trained him in how to properly use it but the question was, why didn't Morgan have the staff I'd grown so used to seeing him with? Jared eyed the boy hatefully, not looking very amused with what he'd said. Well, if the shoe fits.

"Ezekiel." Gavin started, looking exasperated. "There aren't any kings, presidents, or prime ministers. And all that is a fairy-tale too. Don't bring that your highness shit our way." Ezekiel, the man with the dreadlocks, looked at Gavin in shock, seeming as though he wasn't sure how to respond. "Now, I appreciate that you've been delivering but, things have been unnecessarily tense and that makes me unnecessarily tense. I didn't go this route for stress, no, just the opposite. So let's get to it. Do you have today's offering?" Ezekiel sidestepped, allowing Gavin to pass and made his way to the truck. Gavin looked inside the truck, letting out an aggravated sigh after a moment and said "I want your guns too."

The people from the Kingdom instantly drew their guns, the Saviours copying their actions, I raised one of my handguns and didn't aim at anyone in particular. I wasn't so sure that I could shoot any of these people, as far as I knew they hadn't done anything wrong and I didn't think I had it in me to kill innocent people. I glanced over at Dwight to see a serious expression on his face as he pointed his gun, he had to of been in a situation like this before, he was so calm and collected.

"We did not agree to that." Ezekiel said, his tone of voice showed how unhappy he was.

"Well you got a choice, same one that's been there since the beginning I guess." Gavin started. "You can give up your guns or you can try to use them. What's it gonna be?"

There was so much tension in the air as guns were aimed at both groups, no one was safe from a bullet if the firing started. Was there anything I could do? Something to defuse the situation? Why had Gavin ordered that they give up their guns? He was fine until he got up to the truck, was something wrong with the food they'd tried to deliver us?

"We should give them over your majesty." one of the men finally said, looking at Ezekiel.

"Eh we should give them over your majesty." Jared mocked, I glared darkly in his direction. "Or maybe I just shove this down your throat."

'Can I shoot this guy instead of the other nice people?'

"Give Morgan his stick back." Ezekiel ordered. "And you can have the guns. And all of us can go on with our day's journeys-"

"Ezekiel." Gavin interrupted. "I need you to understand the gravity of what's happening here. I gave you a choice, what is it going to be? Come on. You know the answer."

"It's fine." Morgan said after a moment, Ezekiel turned his eyes to him and Morgan nodded. Ezekiel finally moved his finger from the trigger and flipped his gun up, holding it out.

"Give them your guns." he instructed.

I moved forward with Dwight and the other Saviours to take the guns from the people, walking passed the people I didn't know to Morgan. I smiled weakly and took the gun from his hand, taking the one from the young blonde boy as well. I knew Morgan had questions for me, just like I had some for him but now wasn't the time or place for that. I had to keep following orders and do what I was told, I was here to learn how the Saviours did things. I could only hope things wouldn't turn ugly.

"Sorry." I mumbled, Morgan nodded once to show he'd heard me.

"Angel, come over here dear." Gavin called. I slipped passed the other Saviours, going over to stand next to Gavin in front of the truck, looking down into the bed. There were cantaloupes all boxed up, I counted eleven. "Count those for me."

"Already did." I stated.

"Now then." Gavin sighed. "There is always a fixed number or amount of produce or livestock we receive. Always the same number, never changes. Just like the day or time of deliveries. Never changes."

I nodded to show him I understood what he was saying, I was going to assume that The Kingdom was short for this delivery. That would explain why Gavin had demanded they give up their guns, he didn't want an uprising on his hands while he handled the situation. I wasn't sure how this was going to play out though, was it going to turn ugly or would he just hold the guns hostage until they made up for the delivery?

"We took your guns just now because things are about to get emotional. You guys have proven that you don't do so good with emotional." Gavin said, sighing softly. "You're short, how many are there Angel?"

"Eleven." I stated, turning to survey the group.

"There should be twelve there." Ezekiel said.

"Well there aren't." Gavin told him.

"Count them again." Ezekiel instructed.

" _You_ count them." Gavin hollered. I watched as Ezekiel turned, heading over towards the truck and looked in the back, a surprised look in his eyes when he saw that we weren't lying.

"I counted them." he said, sounding shocked. "I did, this is impossible."

"It is possible." Gavin retorted, a calm look on his face. "It's real. It's happening now and the problems have to end, now. You have to learn the stakes here so we're going to teach you."

"You don't have to do anything." Ezekiel said, backing away with his hands raised. "We'll get you twice the tribute in an hour."

"Right now..." Gavin stopped, side glancing at me. He wanted me to finish his sentence, he wanted me to know that I had grasped the basics. As much as I hated this, I had to do it.

"Is the only time that matters." I finished.

"And right now, you haven't held up your side of the bargain." Gavin continued. "After we have talked about things over and over, again and again. So we are going to deal with all of this. Right now."

"Right now as in, right now?" Jared asked, I turned to look at him.

"Yeah, right now."

Jared reached behind him and pulled out his handgun, holding it up to one of the men's head, my eyes widened in shock, they were going to kill a man over a single cantaloupe. I swallowed the lump in my throat, watching all the people of The Kingdom shift uncomfortably, staring down the gun in horror. The man leaned closer to the gun, staring straight at Jared.

"Just do it." he said, sounding defeated. Jared scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Okay." He shifted his gun at the last second, firing. My jaw dropped when I saw the bullet had hit the young boy, he dropped to the ground screaming in pain, Morgan instantly dropped to his side to put pressure on the wound.

'No.'

"Everybody settle down." Gavin ordered, not turning around. I couldn't stop myself, I raised my gun.

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed, pushing my way past The Kingdom's people. I had to make it to Jared, I was going to shoot that asshole. "You shot a kid you piece of shit!"

"Angel no!" Dwight moved in front of me, blocking my path, I aimed my gun around him. "Gavin!" I looked to see Gavin had turned around, his eyes went wide when he saw the kid on the ground.

"Give the man his damn stick! Get in the truck, don't say a god damn word!" he ordered with his voice raised. Jared glanced over at Gavin before throwing the staff to the ground, lowering his gun before going in the direction of the truck. I lowered my gun, Dwight had his hands on my shoulders, holding me in place.

"We need to get back." Ezekiel said, sounding scared.

"No." Gavin said calmly. "Right now you have to listen. For once, be present and listen. You will make your deliveries on time, _every_ time and they will be complete. It's A's or F's, no I's." Gavin paused, waving his hand for the other Saviours to collect the offering, they all lowered their guns. "You are going to show me you understand by bringing the balance of what you owe tomorrow."

"We need to go, he's bleeding out." Morgan exclaimed.

"One cantaloupe, no more, no less. Do you understand?" Gavin yelled, the Saviours had grabbed the boxes and went to put them in the truck.

"Yes I understand." Ezekiel almost growled.

"Go patch him up." Gavin ordered, walking away from their truck.

And then everyone was at the kid's side, Morgan was shouting instructions on where they should take him. If it was indeed true that the boy was bleeding out then they would need to hurry, they only had so much time before they'd lose him. I looked up into Dwight's eyes, feeling worried. What was going to happen to that kid?

"Come on Angel." he instructed, I looked over towards Gavin.

The look on his face told me that he didn't condone what Jared had done, his mere reaction when he saw it was the kid that was shot told me that he wouldn't have chosen the boy to be the one. If that boy died, then I was going to do something about it, I needed to talk to Gavin when we got back to the outpost. This couldn't just slide, there were rules and rules needed to be followed. One of those unspoken rules is that you don't kill a kid, if he died, there needed to be consequences.

"Okay babe, let's go." I agreed, hugging him around the waist.

I hoped that boy would survive.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I really didn't enjoy writing this chapter because I was so sad that Benjamin died in the show, the next chapter is the second half of this episode and will be about the follow up pickup.  
**


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five: There Are Rules

Chapter Twenty Five: There Are Rules

* * *

" _That wasn't okay Dwight, that kid could die." I ranted, pacing around the room we were staying in._

" _I know darlin, there's nothing we can do though." Dwight repeated._

 _We'd been having this conversation for a while, since we'd made it back to the outpost, I was practically a mess and had been repeating the same things over and over. Dwight was doing his best to calm me down but it wasn't working, the longer I stewed on this the angrier I got. There had to be consequences for this, this couldn't be over looked, I needed to talk to Gavin._

" _I want to talk to the leader here." I demanded._

" _That's not a good idea." Dwight said, standing up from the chair. "Do you know what happens if you go against orders?"_

" _He deserves to die for what he's done." I stated, growing all the more angry._

" _Darlin." Dwight had his hands on my shoulders, looking down at me with a serious expression in his eyes. "Please, you need to think this through."_

" _I have." I responded. "I want to talk to Gavin."_

" _We have to follow orders." Dwight told me, I narrowed my eyes._

" _So we're ordered to shoot and kill kids?" I argued. "I'm not going along with that." Dwight sighed softly and bowed his head, he knew I'd made up my mind and I wasn't going to stop until I got my way. There had to be consequences, Jared deserved to die and if he was going to, I wanted to be the one to do it. "I know what I'm doing, trust me."_

" _Darlin...fuck." I could tell how defeated he sounded, he didn't want me putting myself in jeopardy but he knew I wouldn't give up. I felt strongly about this and I wasn't just going to stand by and ignore it. "Okay, fine."_

" _Thank you D." I whispered, finally calming down a little. "I love you." I pressed my lips against his forehead, smiling when he placed a kiss on my nose._

" _I love you too."_

 _He straightened up and took my hand, pulling me to follow him. He opened the door, leading me by the hand out into the hallway. I shut the door behind us and we began walking, taking a few turns before finally running into another Saviour. Hopefully he'd know where Gavin would be right now._

" _Where can we find Gavin?" Dwight asked._

" _Right about now he'd be counting rations for Negan." the other Saviour responded._

 _Dwight thanked the man and we continued down the hallway, Dwight leading the way. We eventually came to an open door, it looked like some form of a stock room, Gavin was inside and giving out orders on what needed to be done to some of the Saviours. Gavin looked back over his shoulder, eyeing the pair of us before moving closer to the doorway._

" _Angel would like to talk to you." Dwight told him, Gavin nodded a little. He moved out of the room and shut the door behind him, looking down at me curiously._

" _What can I do for you dear?" he asked calmly. "Did you have a question?"_

" _I did." I agreed. I glanced over at Dwight, he nodded and released my hand after pressing a kiss to the side of my head._

" _Be back in ten." he told me. I smiled a little and nodded, watching him head back down the hallway before looking back at Gavin._

" _Do you condone the murder of kids?" I asked, getting straight to the point. "Because that bastard probably killed that boy."_

" _I do not Angel." he answered. "There are rules."_

" _Then there should be consequences." I stated._

" _So you think Jared should be punished if that boy is dead." he guessed, I nodded in agreement._

" _I do." Gavin gave me a serious look, seeming as though he were searching my eyes before he said the last thing I expected._

" _Then do it."_

Dwight parked the bike next to the truck, shutting off the engine. I climbed off the back of the bike, watching as Gavin moved out of the driver's seat. Dwight moved off the bike and took my hand in his, we started walking forward to meet Ezekiel and his men. We stopped a few yards away from the group, I stood between Gavin and Dwight like before. I looked away from the Saviours, finding Morgan's face. He looked distraught, he had a staff in each hand and was pacing, finally stopping when he saw our group. I looked around the group, my heart dropping when I didn't see the kid.

'Did he make it?'

"How's the kid?" Gavin asked. No one from Ezekiel's group spoke, all of their eyes were sad, I felt anger bubble up inside me. "He's dead." Gavin said, he didn't sound very please.

I looked over at Gavin, my free hand resting on my handgun, I felt Dwight squeeze my other hand. I'd told him what Gavin and I had talked about so he knew what was coming. Gavin bowed his head for a moment and turned his head in my direction, nodding at me.

"Angel, do it."

I whipped my handgun off my side and without needing to look, pulled the trigger. A loud bang rang out in the area, a scream of pain following. Jared dropped to the ground, holding his knee where I'd shot him, howling in pain. I holstered my handgun and released Dwight's hand, walking over to where he laid. I leaned over him, narrowing my eyes.

"What the fuck you bitch!" he screamed.

"There are rules." I said calmly. "And you broke one."

"I'll kill you, you bitch!"

"Shut up!" Gavin screamed. "Or instead of a bum leg, I'll order her to put the next bullet in your _head_. There are _rules_!"

Jared was twisting around on the ground as he held his injured knee, blood was quickly soaking through his jeans. He was glaring at me with the utmost hatred, I easily recognized that I'd made an enemy in this group but I didn't care, this prick deserved more than what I'd done. I bent down, resting my arms on my knees as a I stared at him, a serious look in my eyes.

"You know, I wanted to kill you." I started, a smirk coming to my lips. "You did a shitty thing but Gavin, well, he told me not to. We decided this would be a good wake up call for you." I chuckled softly to myself, Jared was glaring darkly at me. "Next time you think about shooting a kid, remember that this was your only warning. Next time, I'll kill you."

"Get him in the truck." Gavin ordered.

I moved up from my crouched position and went back to stand in between Gavin and Dwight. A couple of the Saviours had went to Jared's side, helping him stand so he could go back to the truck. I took my place between them, Gavin nodded approvingly.

"Well done Angel, I'll make sure to let Negan know that you stepped up."

"Thank you."

Dwight took my hand in his, squeezing it once. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, if he was proud of me for holding onto my morals but I'd find out once we were back home. Gavin turned his attention back to the people of The Kingdom, looking fully collected once again.

"Do you have it?" he asked.

One of the Kingdom's men pulled a small crate out of the back of the truck, a single cantaloupe inside of it. He walked forward, carrying it over to our group, I glanced up at Dwight. He had a serious expression on his face but I could see something behind his eyes, something that told me something was going on in his head. He needed to talk, I could see that. There were things we needed to discuss, what we were going to do about Negan was one of them.

I didn't think I could just stand by anymore and let innocent people die, watch people starve to death, I had made my choice. I couldn't run away, I couldn't try to escape. I had to stay in the ranks of the Saviours, I had to be the inside person for my people, their eyes and ears in foreign territory. I could help overthrow Negan from the inside, maybe rally some of the other Saviours against him, the workers would more than likely fight against him. If I could just hold out a little longer, gather some information and get it back to our people, the war could begin.

"I just want to say, we get it." the man started.

I blinked dumbly when Morgan strode forward, tossing one of the staffs aside and hit the man over the face a couple of times with the other. Dwight raised his gun in time with the other Saviours, I copied his actions, trying not to aim at anyone in particular. What was Morgan doing? I watched as he knocked the man to the ground, getting on top of him and wrapped his hands around his throat.

"Morgan!"

Ezekiel was screaming his name, telling him to stop but that didn't break Morgan's focus. He continued strangling him, even as the man struggled against him, he still didn't have the strength to get Morgan off of him. Morgan held onto his throat and began slamming his head against the concrete, using all his strength to choke the life out of him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and glanced at Gavin, he had a serious expression on his face as he observed. I moved my eyes to Dwight, as calm and collected as he looked, I knew he was in shock. I'd told him about Morgan, how he had a code to not end a life, this was completely unlike him. Why was he doing this? The man made a few gurgling noises finally, attempting to breathe but in the end, Morgan's strength had been superior. He'd killed him. I lowered my gun slightly, watching as Morgan moved off the man and sat in the parking lot on his knees, finally looking back towards his people.

"He set it all up. He blocked the road yesterday, made us late." Morgan started, trying to compose himself. "It was all him. And we had your offering, when we left. Had it all. He took one from the cargo and he hid it, when we stopped. He wanted to get something started between The Kingdom and the Saviours."

Ezekiel and his people had shocked looks on their faces but I could see that they believed Morgan, that they trusted him. The man that Morgan had killed, he'd caused that young boy to lose his life, all because he wanted to start something with the Saviours. I could feel my heart breaking at the thought, how could one person be so selfish? Why would that man risk all his people's lives, everyone back at their community to start a war? As much I didn't agree with his methods, I understood why a war needed to happen. The Saviours didn't care who they hurt to get what they wanted, at least Gavin was enough of a man to have some kind of a code. I watched as Morgan turned back to our group, looking up at Gavin.

"Hey." He moved up to his feet, moving to stand in front of Gavin. "Hey." he repeated. "I wanted to show you, I wanted to show you that we get it. That we understand what it is we need to do. That we know, how to go on."

"Good." Gavin replied. "Next week, same time." Morgan nodded.

"We, we understand." he said, his breathing was finally calming down.

Gavin nodded at the rest of us, I took that as a sign that it was time to go. I holstered my gun and took the hand Dwight offered me, walking side by side with him to our bike. I sat on the back of the bike, waiting for him to start the engine so we could go. We needed to get back to the Sanctuary, I was sure Negan wasn't going to want to wait much longer for an answer from me. My bike roared to life, Dwight revved the engine a couple times before Gavin grabbed my attention.

"You all can head back to the Sanctuary, I'll be giving Negan my report once I'm back at the outpost. You did good kid, I'm impressed." I nodded a thank you and wrapped my arms around Dwight's waist, he gave the bike some gas and we sped out of the parking lot.

"Hey babe?" Dwight glanced back over his shoulder at me, before turning his attention back to the road. "Did I do the right thing?"

"Yeah, you did." he agreed. "That asshole deserved worse." I smiled a little, glad that he was siding with me and leaned up, kissing the side of his face. "Darlin, we can't let this go on."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Negan, the Saviours, it all needs to end." he responded, taking a turn down another road. He wasn't speeding or even going what the speed limit would've been, we were just coasting down the road at possibly 25 miles per hour. What was he thinking about?

"What are we supposed to do then?" I pressed.

"I think it's time." he started, I blinked curiously. "To switch sides."

"We doing this?" I asked, he nodded.

"Oh yeah."

We definitely had a lot to talk about back home.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the wait!**


End file.
